


Elise

by Liquid_Sky



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Character Death, Drama, Flashbacks, Friendship, Gen, Post-Game, Slight Canon Divirgence, Some Humor, sorceress powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-02-11
Updated: 2002-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-18 13:17:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9386942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liquid_Sky/pseuds/Liquid_Sky
Summary: A person who Squall and Quistis thought they would never see again returns after three years of having disappeared. Why did she choose now to return? What is her true purpose?





	1. The Forgotten One

**Author's Note:**

> (1/18/17) I wrote this fifteen years ago. At the time I was very proud of it but then grew to hate it and wanted to erase it from existence. Now that I'm a fully mature adult, I've come to appreciate it for what it is. I'm posting it here because I've decided to embrace my roots as its fifteenth anniversary nears and also, it's complete. I had fun rereading it, maybe if you have some time to kill you'll enjoy it too.

The cafeteria at Balam Garden was unusually quiet, with the exception of three people arguing by the entrance, it was completely empty.

"Squall, what we have here is a problem." Said Quistis Trepe, concern apparent in her voice.

"Yeah man, major problem." Zell Dincht agreed.

Squall Leonheart looked at his two friends, when he spoke there was unmistakable annoyance in his voice. "Rinoa is waiting for me. I don't want to be late. We're only going to be in Deling City one more day. Shouldn't you two be out enjoying yourselves like everyone else?"

"Well, it might not be a problem to you, but there are some of us that care!" Zell was starting to lose his patience, which was not particularly difficult for Zell to do.

"Since when does a commander have to worry about hot dogs!" Squall snapped at Zell.

"Well, Commander," Quistis stepped in, "since you are not busy leading us into an exciting battle, I do not think it unreasonable for you to concern yourself with the problems that we do have, regardless of how insignificant those may seem."

She was right, of course. "...Whatever."

"Well," Quistis began, "as I started to say earlier, the competition for the hot dogs is getting out of hand. There was a fight over them yesterday, it resulted in two black eyes and a bloody nose. But I have come up-"

"Sorry to interrupt," they all turned around to see Irvine Kinneas at the cafeteria entrance, "but there's a young lady out there looking for the commander. She's really cute."

"Great." Squall placed his right hand on his forehead. "I'm late as it is. Is it urgent?"

"I don't know. She just said to tell you her name and that you'd know what it was about."

Silence.

Squall gave a frustrated sigh. "Well, what is her name?"

"Elise Avalon."

The color drained from Quistis and Squall's faces, they looked at each other but neither spoke.

"So like, what do I tell her?" Irvine asked after a short moment of silence.

"Elise Avalon?" Zell asked. "Isn't she the one chick that-"

"Yes, Zell!" Squall found himself yelling.

"Squall, it must be a different Elise." Quistis said trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Squall.

"What else did she say?" Squall asked turning to Irvine.

"Nothin'. Just that she wanted to see you. What's wrong?"

"It _is_ that one girl!" Zell exclaimed. "I remember now! But, it can't be."

"No, Zell, it can't. It must be someone else. Squall," Quistis said turning to face him, "we should go see what she wants..."

After Irvine told them where Elise was waiting Quistis and Squall made their way to the Quad; they stopped at the entrance each wishing the other would go in first. Squall finally stepped in and looked around. All he saw was the conceited SeeD that nobody in Garden seemed to like talking to a blonde, female student.

They walked to the stage; there they saw a young woman pacing back and forth, she stopped when she saw them. She was about Quistis' height, she wore black pants and a black tank top, her long red hair hung loose below her slender shoulders. She was nothing short of beautiful. Her bright, green eyes darted back and forth from Squall to Quistis; she walked up to them.

"Hello, Squall, and Quistis, what a pleasant surprise. You didn't expect to see me again, did you?" Neither spoke. Elise suddenly hugged him holding him rather tightly. "I missed you so much."

Was it really her? It had been so long since that horrible day, all the painful memories came flooding back. Squall had never expected, not even in his wildest dreams that he would see her again. Yet here she was; her same voice, that same perfume that she always wore. It truly was Elise.

"We thought you were dead." He finally said as he returned the embrace.

She released him from the hug, there were tears in her eyes. "Look at you," she smiled, "you sure have changed. How did you get that scar?" She touched his forehead.

"It's a long story."

"I'll want to hear it later." She smiled again, then moved over to Quistis. "You've changed too. You look wonderful." She hugged her lightly.

Quistis stepped back. "But...I was there, I saw it all. How did you...survive?"

"I don't really want to talk about that right now. We'll have plenty of time for that later. I need to talk to Cid. He's still the Headmaster?"

"Yes." Squall replied, Quistis didn't speak.

"Great! I'll go see him. See you guys later." She ran toward the exit.

"...I can't believe she's really alive." Quistis said quietly.

 _Elise is here_ , Squall thought, _she's alive_. He couldn't think of anything more wonderful. He wanted to run and tell- "Rinoa!" He said out loud when he remembered.

"What?"

"I completely forgot about her!" He said running toward the exit as well.

"...She's not dead..." Quistis still couldn't believe it.

* * *

"So, he didn't show." General Caraway was looking at his watch. "He's over an hour late."

"Father, please. This isn't like him." Rinoa Heartily moved away from the table and made her way to the dining room door. "Something might have happened to him. I'm leaving."

"Rinoa, he doesn't even take you seriously."

"Why are you saying that?"

"He stood you up. He thought something else was more important than being with you."

"I don't have to stay here and listen to this." She walked out the door slamming it behind her.

Rinoa sat at the bus stop deep in thought. She knew Squall wouldn't have simply forgotten that they were going to have lunch with her father. He always kept his promises, and if he had failed to do so today it may have meant that something had happened at Garden. She began to worry, what if the Garden was under attack? Or what if someone had been hurt? What if Squall was hurt? At that moment she noticed a blue car pulled up by the bus stop, Squall jumped out.

"Squall!" She ran toward him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time but—"

"You are in so much trouble!" Rinoa yelled slapping his arm. "I am trying very hard to get along with my father, and to get him to accept our relationship. But I cannot accomplish anything if the two of you don't cooperate with me!"

"I'm sorry, but something came up. I promise I'll make it up to you, we'll stay here an extra day so we can meet with your father tomorrow."

"Something came up? What?"

"Elise is back." Squall smiled.

"Why are you smiling? Who is Elise?" Squall seldom smiled, so this made Riona both curious and suspicious.

"Let's go, I'll tell you on the way." He took hold of her hand and led her to the car.

Squall and Rinoa walked out of the parking lot hand in hand.

* * *

"So all this time everyone thought she was dead?"

"Yeah."

"That is so sad."

"Hey, Squall!" They turned around and saw Xu approaching them.

"Xu." Squall nodded in greeting.

"Hi, Rinoa. Squall, Quistis asked me to tell you that Elise is waiting for you in the library. Isn't it unbelievable that she's back?" She asked excitedly.

"It is." Rinoa rolled her eyes, she could tell that Squall was trying to conceal his excitement. At least he didn't try to hide it from her; that was a big improvement.

"See you guys later," Xu said walking off.

"Come on, Rinoa." Squall said leading her toward the library. "I want you to meet her."

"Damn it, Layla! Why do you have to work tonight?" Zell was talking to the librarian looking very disappointed.

"Zell, you know I didn't want this. Eliza is sick, so I have to cover for her." She said apologetically.

"But we were gonna go out."

"We'll go out tomorrow."

"But this is our last night here, I wanted to go to the shopping arcade," Zell whined.

"I'm sorry."

He folded his arms under his chest.

"Don't be mad." She kissed him on the cheek. Zell smiled.

"Hi Zell, hi Layla." Rinoa greeted as she and Squall walked into the library.

Squall looked around. "I thought Quistis and Elise were here."

Zell pointed to the back. "They're over there."

Squall and Rinoa walked to the back of the library, Zell following close behind them. Irvine, Selphie and Elise were talking while Quistis sat alone in the corner.

"Squall!" Selphie said cheerfully. "We've been waiting for you."

"Hello." Elise walked up to Rinoa and hugged her. "You must be Rinoa, I have heard so many good things about you."

Rinoa didn't know what to say. She didn't feel comfortable being hugged by someone she had never met. "Hi...um...nice to meet you." Was all that she could come up with.

"Guess what, Squall?" Elise turned to face him. "I'm going to be a SeeD!"

"That's great." Squall smiled.

He was smiling much more than usual Rinoa thought. But that was expected from anyone in that situation, even Squall who was always trying to hide his emotions would have to let it show, even a little.

"I talked to Cid, he said that I already have all my credits and I'm not twenty yet, all I have to do is take the field exam again."

"Yes, again." Said Quistis surprising everyone, as she had not yet spoken. "You brought us all here for a reason, didn't you? To tell us how you survived, and to tell them how you...died." She turned away.

"I was just getting to that." Elise smiled at everyone. "Three years ago, I took my field exam, like Quistis I was going to become a SeeD at fifteen." She turned to look at Quistis. "In fact, we took the field exam the same day. The town of Minersville was being attacked, so SeeD was hired to go battle the enemy."

"Hey, I remember that!" Zell said. "But who were the attackers?"

"We still don't know," Quistis answered. "We have no idea where they came from or what their purpose for attacking Minersville was. All we know is that they all dressed in white."

"White SeeDs?" Squall asked.

Quistis shook her head.

"What did their uniforms look like?" Selphie wanted to know.

"They weren't uniforms," Elise answered. "They were all just dressed in white. Anyway," she continued, "when we arrived we were divided into teams, I was in Quistis' team. The battle wasn't very challenging for SeeD, after a little while it was obvious that we were winning, but still, Quistis and I had our hands full."

"I remember turning around and seeing Quistis being attacked by two guys." She looked at Quistis. Quistis turned the other way. "I went to help her, then, a flying monster caught my attention, it looked like a winged T-Rexor, but it was much smaller. I saw it head straight for Quistis, so I rushed over to her." Quistis was closing her eyes. "I tried to warn her, but she couldn't see me because she was fighting, so I tried to get one of the guys out of the way, but he turned around and caught me by surprise...and he stabbed me with his sword." Tears were streaming down Quistis' face. "Meanwhile," Elise continued, "the flying monster came at me instead of Quistis and it carried me away...So no one could find me and everyone thought I...died."

Riona walked over to Quistis and put her arm around her shoulder. "Are you all right?" Quistis nodded then wiped her tears with the back of her right hand.

There was a long silence. Irvine finally spoke. "So like, where have you been all this time?"

"Oh. Sorry." Elise said wiping her eyes.

"You don't have to talk about it right now." Squall said putting his hand on Elise's shoulder.

 _Squall, showing someone his concern in front of everyone?_ Rinoa thought, not that he didn't care about people, she just had never seen him act that way. Again Rinoa found this a bit suspicious.

"I'm fine," Elise smiled at Squall, "thanks. Well, the monster carried me for a while, I don't know how long. Then, I guess it thought I was dead, so it dropped me somewhere near Esthar. It was a pretty long drop, and I had already lost a lot of blood, so I lost consciousness before I hit the ground. The next thing I remember, I was in a small house that belonged to an old man. I owe him my life, he nursed me back to health."

"It took you over three years to heal?" Zell questioned.

"What kind of a question is that, Zell!" Squall snapped.

"It's okay Squall, he's right." Elise continued. "When I regained consciousness, I couldn't remember anything. Not my name, or my friends. Nothing."

Selphie gasped. "That must be so terrible."

"It was. I used to have dreams about Garden, the monster and many other things that I couldn't understand. Then about three years after...everything, I went to Dollet, I started to hear about the sorceress and the flying Gardens. After that my dreams started to make sense, I kept hearing more and more about the Garden, the missiles in Trabia, and all my memories became clearer and clearer. Little by little I was remembering, I remembered my name and that I was destined to become a SeeD. And of course, you, Squall." She smiled at him; he smiled at her. Rinoa cleared her throat.

"I wanted to help you guys fight the sorceress," Elise continued, "but every time I arrived at a city, you had already left, I was always one step behind. And today, finally, I found you." Everyone was quiet for a moment, then Elise spoke again. "Hey, why do you look so grim? Whatever was meant to happen did and I don't regret any of it. As SeeDs you guys should know that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so now I'm a hell of a lot stronger, and this will help me become a better SeeD." She finished cheerfully.

Rinoa couldn't remember ever hearing a sappier speech. Of course, she was glad the girl was alive and well, but did she have to smile at Squall so much? Somehow it seemed to Rinoa that Elise was not being herself. " _I'm_ not a SeeD." Rinoa said. "And neither is Irvine."

Her statement took them all by surprise.

"Gosh, Rinoa," Selphie said, "you make it sound like it's a bad thing to be a SeeD."

"You're right," Irvine said, "I'm not a SeeD by title, but I'm on my way to becoming one, so I consider myself a SeeD." He didn't like the fact that Rinoa was speaking for him in that way.

"Why would you say that Rinoa?" Squall asked.

"I just don't like being generalized." She said in a matter-of-fact sort of way. "It's been a long day, I'm going to bed. Good night everyone." She turned to Elise. "Nice meeting you, I'm glad you're back." She walked out of the library.

There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry, Elise." Said Squall looking embarrassed. "I don't know why she said that, she's not usually like that."

"Don't worry about it, she's right, it's late. I'll be going to bed pretty soon too."

"That's weird," Selphie whispered to Irvine, "Rinoa is usually the one doing the apologizing."

"Yo, Squall at what time are we leaving tomorrow?" Zell asked.

"Oh. I forgot, I need to make an announcement, we're staying one more day."

"All right!" Zell yelled enthusiastically. "Hey, Layla!" He ran to the counter and started talking to the librarian.

"Why are we staying an extra day?" Selphie asked.

"Um...Personal business." Squall answered curtly.

"Oh. I'm gonna go ahead and go too." Selphie turned to Quistis. "Are you coming with me?"

"No, Selphie, thanks. I think I'll stay."

"Okie dokie, then. Good night everyone. It was great meeting you, Elise." She walked out.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," said Irvine shaking Elise's hand. "but..." he glanced to the door, "it is getting late and I have to go." With that, he rushed out.

"Elise..." Squall started to say.

"Go, make your announcement." Elise smiled at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Quistis." Quistis nodded. "See you tomorrow Elise." He said as he walked away.

"Quistis," Elise said turning her back to her, "I didn't mean to upset you by coming back."

"Upset me by coming back?" Quistis stood up. "What sort of person do you believe me to be? How could you say something so preposterous?"

"Well," Elise turned to face her, "you don't seem exactly thrilled to see me back."

"I _am_ happy!"

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it!"

"Can't you see?" Quistis said exasperated, "all of this time I have lived with the guilt." She lowered her voice. "This happened because of me. All this time I thought you died because of _me_." Tears started to form in her eyes once more. "You saved my life, and I did nothing. I watched like a scared, helpless child."

"Quistis, I don't blame you. I don't regret saving your life, blaming you for this never crossed my mind. So if I don't blame you, maybe you should stop blaming yourself." Tears ran down Elise's face as she hugged Quistis.

Quistis returned the embrace. "I'm so glad you're back."

* * *

After announcing the prolonged stay in Deling City Squall retired to his dorm. _What an amazing day,_ he thought. Elise was truly back, it all felt like a dream, too good to be true like it could end at any moment. There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Rinoa."

"Come in."

Rinoa stepped in closing the door behind her. "Hi."

"...Hi."

There was a short silence. "...Squall, you didn't even go after me."

"Was I supposed to?"

"No."

"Then?"

"What do you mean, _then_?"

"What do you mean ' _what do I mean_ '?"

"I mean, shouldn't you have checked to see what was bothering me?"

"I didn't know you wanted me to."

"Boyfriends are supposed to know things like that!"

"But you just said I wasn't supposed to go after you!"

"No! What I meant was—" Rinoa had to stop herself and smile. He was so adorably clueless. "I'm sorry." She said walking toward him. She stopped inches away from him, then kissed him.

Squall stepped back; he looked at her. Rinoa smiled again when she saw the confused expression on his face. "Why are you smiling?"

"You are so cute."

"Weren't you mad at me?"

"No."

 _This is more difficult than leading the Garden into battle._ Squall thought, his hand on his forehead.

"OK," Rinoa said, "I came because I need to talk to you about Elise."

"Oh."

"And, Squall, please be completely honest."

"What do you want to know?"

"Well...um...I want to know...what sort of... _relationship_ you had with her." She said turning to face the wall.

"She was like my sister," Squall said simply.

"Oh?" Rinoa turned around. "Sister?"

"After Ellone she was the only person that I talked to and trusted. She always used to tell me, 'don't think about tomorrow or yesterday, concentrate on today.' I was actually starting to follow her advice, but then...I lost her too."

Rinoa felt horrible for being jealous of Elise and for behaving like a child in front of her. "I'm sorry." She said hugging Squall. "But now she's back, and you have me and everyone."

"I know."

"Well, I better be going to bed." She kissed him again. "Good night."

"Good night."

Rinoa started toward the door. "Rinoa," Squall called after her, she stopped. "You know you have nothing to worry about."

"I know...I'm sorry." She smiled and walked out the door.

* * *

"Zell, I can't do this alone, you were the one who came to me with the hotdog problem in the first place." Quistis tapped her fingers on her clipboard.

"I know, but I have plans. We can work on that tomorrow, besides you could use a free day yourself." Zell dumped the leftovers from his tray into the trash can near the cafeteria exit then proceeded to place the tray on a rapidly growing stack on the opposite side.

Quistis was less than amused by Zell's sudden lack of interest in the hotdog problem. She had been looking for him all morning wasting precious time that could be spent on important things such as... _well...I could probably find something important to do._

"I'll help you, Quistis." Quistis and Zell turned around and saw Elise standing behind them; she was wearing her student uniform.

"Good morning." Said Quistis brightly.

"Thanks, Elise! See you guys later!" Said Zell running out of the cafeteria.

"Always running in the cafeteria," said Quistis smiling as she watched Zell leave, "Seifer would hate to see that."

"Seifer?" Elise asked surprised.

"You remember Seifer, don't you?"

"Oh. Sure—So what's the problem you need help with?"

"Let's go find Xu, I'll tell you about it on the way."

* * *

Zell glanced at the clock on his bedside table. "Oh man. I'm late." He said out loud. He was standing in front of a mirror putting the finishing touches on his hair. Once he was done, he smiled at his reflection. "Oh, Damn!" His smile quickly faded once he realized he had forgotten to put on his sweatshirt before sculpting his hair.

He walked over to the bed and picked up the sweatshirt, he carefully started to pull it over his head, "Slowly," he said "carefully, I can do this." He finally succeeded; he quickly ran to the mirror and was pleased to see that his hair remained untouched.

There was a knock; he rushed to the door expecting to see an irritated Layla, when he opened the door he was surprised to see Elise standing there.

"Hi, Zell."

"Uh...hi."

"Can I come in?"

"Um..." He wasn't sure how it would look if someone saw a girl who was not his girlfriend going into his dorm.

"I won't be long." She smiled.

"O...kay." He moved away from the door to let her in.

"It's pretty neat in here," she said looking around, "for a guy's room."

"Yeah, well don't touch anything, I like to keep it clean."

"I was waiting for you outside, but you took too long. What were you doing all this time?"

Zell thought it was none of her business, but he answered anyway. "My hair doesn't naturally grow this way, you know? Aren't you supposed to be helping Quistis?"

"Oh. We're taking a little break."

"So..." Zell was starting to feel uncomfortable, "What did you need again?"

"Are you going out with your girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Is she the librarian with the dark hair?"

"Yeah."

"She's pretty."

"I know...wait, are you going somewhere with this?"

"Yes."

"Well?"

"I bet you have to really watch out with a pretty girl like that."

"What the hell do you mean!" She was beginning to get on Zell's nerves.

"I mean, watch out for other guys...you know...so they don't lure her away."

"I don't have to 'watch out'! I trust her. And if that's all you came to—"

"No. I came to tell you something that I thought you should know." Elise meet Zell's gaze.

"What?"

Elise locked eyes with Zell, then said: "I saw your girlfriend and Irvine sneaking into one of the empty classrooms. They were there a while, alone, doing God-knows-what." She started to walk toward him.

"Get out."

She was inches away from him now. "Just think about what I said." She whispered in his ear. "You know its true, they're both lying to you. _Especially_ Irvine."

"I said get the hell out," Zell said in a dangerous voice.

She whispered in his ear once more. "And don't tell anyone about our little encounter." She stepped away and walked out the door.

Zell couldn't remember wanting to hit someone more than he did now. _The nerve of that bitch!_ _There is no way in the world Irvine and Layla would betray me._ ** _They are both lying to you_.** Her words rang in his head. Was she telling the truth? He started to felt confused, the threads in his mind began to intertwine making everything difficult to understand.

 ** _Think about what I said._** Her voice became louder and clearer. Suddenly all he could think about was them, alone together, doing **_God-knows-what._** He couldn't stop thinking about it, he felt as if he were being forced to focus on only that. His head started to throb.

"I am going to kick Irvine's ass." Zell decided.

 


	2. Spreading Poison

Zell knew exactly what he was going to do. He would walk up to Irvine and tell him what a creep he was, then he would—He stopped, there was no reason to do that, they were friends. His mind began to clear, why had he even thought that what he heard was true? And where did he hear it from, someone had come into his dorm and told him, but who?

**_Alone, doing God knows what_.** He heard the voice in his head, was that true? **_Of course_. _Just give him what he deserves, he betrayed your friendship_.** It had to be true, his anger was returning, of course there was a reason to put Irvine in his place. He had been fooling around with his girlfriend. **_Now go give him what he deserves._**

"Zell!" Layla was waiting for him by the Training Center. "I was just about to go look for you. Are you ready to go?"

"Where is Irvine?" Zell's hands balled into fists.

"I don't know. Is something wrong?" Layla asked noticing the angry look on her boyfriend's face.

At that precise moment Selphie came out of the training center. "Hey, guys."

"I need to find Irvine." Zell turned to face Selphie.

"He's at the Quad, I'm on my way to meet him there."

"He's going straight to the Infirmary after I'm done with him." He ran in the direction of the Quad.

"Did he say-?" Selphie began.

"Oh no!" Layla exclaimed realizing what Zell was about to do, though she had no idea why he was going to do it. "Zell wait!" They both ran after him.

Zell entered the Quad; the first thing he saw was Irvine talking to two students. **_Look at him, just standing there, acting as if nothing happened_ ,** he heard the voice again. _Wait_ , he thought _nothing did happened_. **_Oh, but something did happen_.** The voice came again; **_you need to give him what he deserves_**. _He will get what he deserves,_ Zell thought clenching his fists _._

"Zell!" Layla and Selphie yelled.

He ignored them. "Irvine!"

Irvine turned around. "What's up?"

"I want you to stay away from her!" Zell yelled angrily.

"Selphie?" Irvine was confused he couldn't think of anyone else that Zell may have been referring to.

Zell rushed at Irvine and punched him in the face knocking him to the ground. "Don't play innocent with me!"

Irvine lay on the floor stunned, he touched his lip; it was bleeding. "What is your problem?" He got up.

" _You_ are my damn problem!" He punched him again, but this time he didn't fall.

"Zell, please stop!" Layla begged.

Zell ignored her. "Defend yourself!" He yelled at Irvine.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Irvine took a step toward Zell.

"Don't act like you don't know! Maybe you won't fight me 'cause you feel _guilty_! Is that it?"

"Guilty?" What was Zell talking about?

"You won't fight me? Fine!" Zell kicked him in the stomach.

Irvine stumbled back a few steps and coughed a little.

"Zell what's wrong with you?" Selphie sounded frantic.

Irvine felt he had restrained himself long enough. He didn't know what Zell's problem was, but he couldn't just stand there and pose as his punching bag. He hit Zell hard in the face.

Zell rushed at Irvine again, but couldn't move forward, he felt hands pulling him back. It was Quistis and Squall. "Let go of me!"

"Quistis!" Said Squall holding Zell back, "Take Irvine with you!"

"I'm not finished with him yet!" Zell tried to squirm away.

"You are coming with me!" Squall said dragging Zell out of the quad.

* * *

A few minutes later Squall and Zell were in the disciplinary room. Zell sat on one of the only pieces of furniture inside one of the cells, a small wooden stool.

"Do you want to tell me what the problem was?" Squall asked.

"No." Zell was holding a towel to his bloody nose. For some reason, unknown to Zell himself, he didn't want to tell Squall anything.

The door opened and Quistis came into the room.

"Where is Irvine?" Squall questioned.

"In his dorm."

"What was the problem?"

"He says he doesn't know."

"That is a bunch of BS!" Zell suddenly stood causing the stool to fall over. "He knows damn well what the problem is!"

"Zell," Squall said putting a hand on his forehead, "I have to be honest and say that you two were the last people I expected that from."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

Quistis joined in. "We expect you to set an example for students and other SeeD members."

"I can't give you special treatment just because we're friends." Squall felt guilty punishing one of his best friends, even though he did feel he deserved it.

"I didn't ask for special treatment." Zell turned to face the wall.

"You'll have to spend the night here. It's standard procedure."

"Fine."

"You're still not going to tell us what your problem with Irvine was?" Quistis asked.

"No."

"Whatever. Suit yourself." Squall walked out of the disciplinary room feeling extremely confused by the incident. He knew that Zell was impatient and short tempered, but he also knew that he was not the type to start a fight unless he had a strong motive...and fighting with Irvine of all people. It was very strange indeed, but he would have to worry about it later, Rinoa was waiting for him.

* * *

Quistis sat at the small desk in the disciplinary office. She was filling out an incident report for Zell and Irvine's 'encounter'. _How strange it was for them to fight,_ she thought, she remembered how much Zell seemed to dislike Irvine in the beginning, but it was different now, much different. She had often seen the two try to convince Squall to go out with them and have some fun, Squall usually refused and in the end they would give up and go by themselves. It was indeed strange to see them fight, but what seemed stranger was that Irvine did not know why Zell had started the fight. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Hi, Quistis." Elise stepped inside. "What are you doing?"

"Filling out an incident report."

"Where's Squall?"

"He went out with Rinoa."

"Wow."

"What?"

"It doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What doesn't seem fair?"

"Well..."

"Well, what?"

"Squall is out having fun and he leaves you stuck in here doing the paper work."

"I don't mind, he didn't ask me to."

"Quistis, haven't you ever wondered why Cid made Squall commander?"

Quistis was taken aback by the question. "...Because he's the best person for the job."

"Sure. Quistis, don't get me wrong, I love Squall with all my heart, but..."

"But what?"

"Well, I just think that maybe you got cheated out of being commander."

Once again her words surprised her. "What do you mean?" Elise looked at Quistis in the eye; Quistis had the sudden urge to look away, but found that she could not.

"You have much more experience as a SeeD, you were an instructor at seventeen. I just think that you shouldn't have to listen to someone who is younger and less experienced than you."

Quistis was finally able to look away. "...I-I'm sure Cid had his good reasons for making the decision that he did."

Elise stood beside Quistis. "You know I'm right," she whispered in her ear. "You deserve that post more than anyone." She walked backwards until she reached the door, then stopped. "Oh, and Quistis, don't tell anyone I was here." She stepped out and closed the door.

"That was strange." Quistis said out loud. She really didn't mind having someone younger as her commander, she was very proud of Squall's accomplishment. **_No one deserves that post more than you._** She heard a voice inside her head, _maybe it is a little inconsiderate of Squall to be on a date with Rinoa and leave me to do all the paper work. But he didn't ask me to do it, so it's...fine?_ She began to feel confused.

**_He's out having fun while you're stuck in here_.** _It is not fair_ , Quistis thought, _my Instructor's License was taken away while Squall was made commander, but what does that have to do with doing paperwork? Why am I even thinking about that_? **_Because it's the truth. Because it isn't fair._**

This was Squall's responsibility, she decided, if he wanted to be commander he would have to fulfill all his responsibilities, and that included paperwork. She put the pen down. "I won't do it." She didn't have to listen to some inexperienced child. Next time he gave her an order she would just have to put him in his place.

Quistis was on her way out of the office when Layla appeared.

"Quistis..."

"What?" She saw the expression on Layla's face, it wasn't her fault that Squall was such a—"Sorry, what did you need?"

"Do you know where Squall is? I need to ask for his permission to visit Zell."

This was the last thing Quistis needed to hear. "You don't need _his_ permission. Go in, you have _my_ permission. Here take the keys."

"Are you sure? Because I thought-"

"Look! Just go in. I'll take care of Squall." With that she walked out slamming the door behind her.

How strange, Layla thought, she knew that students were not allowed to be in possession of the Disciplinary Room keys. She walked out of the office and turned toward the cells, she spotted Zell in one of them, he was sitting on the stool holding a bloody towel in his hands.

"Zell?"Layla said unlocking the cell.

"What do you want?" He didn't even look at her.

"What happened? I know you, this isn't like you."

"And I thought this wasn't like _you_."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't act so damn innocent!" He turned to face her. "I mean, you and Irvine!"

"What?"

They were interrupted by shouts coming from outside, then they saw Xu running toward them. "Zell! You need to get out!"

"But Squall said-"

"Garden is under attack, we need your help!"

 


	3. The White Army

Squall sat at the dining room table in Caraway Mansion, he had been there for hours it seemed, but in reality it had been but a few minutes.

"So..." General Caraway spoke from across the table.

Squall looked at Rinoa, who was at his right, he wanted her to give him a clue as to what to do or say, but she kept quiet.

"Quite an accomplishment for a person your age to be named Commander of an entire army."

"Thank you."

There was a long silence.

"How old are you? Eighteen?" Caraway finally spoke.

"Seventeen."

Silence.

"Seventeen...And you have no trouble when you give out orders?"

"How do you mean, Sir?"

"I mean with being so young and all. Some of the students may question your authority."

Did he think he couldn't handle it? "I haven't had any trouble as of yet, and I don't expect any."

This was not going quite the way Rinoa expected it. Caraway looked at Squall, Squall looked at him, they seemed to be involved in a staring contest. Rinoa had the urge to tell them both to start acting their age. Thankfully they were interrupted by one of Caraway's employee's.

"Pardon the interruption, General, but I have an urgent phone call for Commander Leonheart." The woman said handing Squall a cordless telephone.

"Excuse me." Squall said getting up and taking the phone.

General Caraway rolled his eyes. "They would only call if it was an emergency." Rinoa said quietly.

" _Squall, Garden is under attack!"_ He heard Xu's frantic voice on the phone.

"What? By who?"

" _I can't explain, just get here quick! Oh no! I have to go!"_ With that she hung up.

He handed the phone back to the woman. "I have to go," Squall said as he hurriedly made his way to the door. "Garden is under attack."

"I'm going with him," Rinoa said.

"Stay here," her father instructed, "it will be dangerous."

"No, they might need my help."

"Rinoa-" Caraway began.

"You can't stop me," she said as she walked out the door.

Caraway sat alone at the table. Why couldn't Rinoa understand that all he ever wanted to do was keep her safe?

* * *

Meanwhile at the Bridge, Quistis discussed her combat strategies. "All we need to do is fly the Garden away from here." This seemed like the perfect solution to her problem, if they left Squall behind, she would have to be the Acting Commander, this would be the first step to becoming the true Commander.

"We can't do that," Zell protested, "Squall and Rinoa are still out there."

"Not to mention other students," Irvine added.

Zell glared at him, it sickened him to have to agree on something with Irvine.

"Squall can catch up with us later!" Quistis said impatiently, she didn't want to lose this golden opportunity to leave Squall behind.

Zell moved his gaze from Irvine to Quistis. "You are acting weird."

" _I_ am acting _weird?_ " She asked outraged. "And what of you and Irvine?"

"That's none of your damn business!"

"Excuse me?"

"Guys," Selphie interrupted, "we don't have time to argue!"

Just then Xu entered the bridge. "Cid is on his way and Squall has been told, what we need to do while Squall gets here is concentrate on our defense."

"Who died and made you Commander?" Quistis asked, surprising Xu along with everyone else. "What a stupid idea."

The elevator came up and Cid emerged. "Where is Squall?" He asked anxiously.

"On a date." Quistis replied.

"The most important thing to worry about at the moment is our defense." Cid instructed, Quistis seemed upset at his words.

"Yes, Sir," Xu saluted him, "I have already assigned groups to defend the front gate and the parking lot ramp."

"Without my consent?" Quistis yelled before she could think about her words, she was after all standing right by the Headmaster.

"Miss Trepe!" Cid could not believe what he was hearing, "You should know by now-"

" _This is Squall,"_ Cid was interrupted by the radio on the control panel.

"Great." Quistis said rolling her eyes.

" _Is anyone there?"_

Cid rushed to the control panel and pressed the speaker button. "Squall, this is Cid. Where in the Heavens are you?"

" _I'm on my way. I need someone to put the ramp down so I can-"_

"That's insane!" Quistis interrupted, "The enemy will be able to get inside!"

" _Look! Just do what I say and we'll be fine!"_

"Squall, I see them!" Rinoa said from the passenger seat of the blue car.

"And they see us."

A mass of sword-carrying young people dressed in white, turned their heads toward the car. Squall kept driving forward at a steady speed.

"Um...Squall?" Rinoa said sounding somewhat nervous. "They're coming at us." The entire army had turned their attention away from Garden and started moving toward the car.

"There's the ramp," Squall said fixing his gaze ahead, "he pressed the radio button. "Someone bring down the ramp when I tell you."

" _I'm standing by, Squall._ " Came Cid's voice.

The attackers started to run toward the car and moving away from the parking lot entrance, Squall stepped on the accelerator.

"You're going too fast," Rinoa yelled, "we'll crash into them!"

Squall ignored her. "Put on your seatbelt." Rinoa did so without questioning.

The attackers were now very close, but were obviously careful not to get too close to the speeding car. Squall kept driving forward. He stepped on the break without warning, the car stopped, this seemed to surprise the attackers, who also stopped, if only for a brief moment. Squall put the car on reverse and stepped on the accelerator, they were now driving backward at a very high speed.

"Oh my God," Rinoa said quietly closing her eyes and holding on to her seat.

Squall shifted to drive, causing Rinoa to almost crash into the windshield. The direction change took the attackers by surprise once again, they instinctively cleared the way for the car, again only for a brief moment. Just the opportunity Squall needed. He floored the accelerator and quickly passed the attackers, they were now running behind them. Squall kept going faster, they were once again close to the entrance, he didn't slow down.

"We're gonna crash!" Rinoa cried.

"Bring it down now!" Squall said pushing the radio button. The ramp started to slowly come down. "Come on," Squall said through clenched teeth.

Rinoa closed her eyes again, "Oh my God."

The ramp had not yet touched the ground when they reached it, the sudden bump caused them to nearly hit their heads on the roof of the car.

"Take it up now!" Squall ordered.

They felt the back of the car start to rise, Rinoa was still closing her eyes' "Oh, no,"sShe whispered.

They finally made it inside, Squall stopped the car abruptly. "Relax, we're in."

Rinoa slowly opened her eyes. She let go of the seat, then looked at Squall. "Are you crazy?" She asked in a low voice.

"Come on, let's go." He said climbing out.

Rinoa and Squall arrived at the Bridge, everyone, except Quistis, rushed toward them.

"Whoo-hoo!" Selphie exclaimed, "You made it!"

"Man, that was freakin' awesome!" Zell sounded quite excited.

"We were watching through the security monitors." Irvine added.

"It's only awesome if you're watching through a monitor," Rinoa said remembering her ordeal.

"What's the situation?" Squall asked.

"They attempted to enter through the front gate and the parking lot entrance," Xu explained. "As you may have noticed I have posted defense teams in both areas."

"Well done," Squall saluted her then moved to the intercom. "Attention, this is Squall speaking. We will divide into four teams, two attack and two defense. Students whose number ends in three and seven; defend the parking lot area. Numbers that end in two and six, defend the front gate. Now for the attack teams: students whose number ends in zero, four and eight will attack the parking lot area led by Quistis Trepe. Numbers ending in one, five and nine will attack the front gate area being led by myself. Good luck to you all." He stepped away from the intercom.

"Why do I have to attack the parking lot area?" Quistis asked Squall.

Squall looked at her for a few seconds, this was a very bad time to be questioning his orders. "Because I said so," he turned his back to her, "Zell, Irvine you two help Quistis."

"I am not going to be in a team with that bastard," Zell pointed at Irvine.

"I didn't _ask_ if you _wanted_ to do it!" Squall snapped.

Zell countered. "I _refuse_ to be in his team!"

"What is the matter with you all?" Cid interrupted.

"Fine," Squall said putting his hand on his forehead, "Irvine and Xu go with Quistis." Quistis stormed out, Xu saluted Squall then went after Quistis.

"I'll do my best," Irvine said before heading out.

"Zell, Selphie, come with me, Rinoa...if you-"

"Don't even think about asking me to stay," Rinoa said, "I'm fighting by your side."

"...OK," he knew he would not convince her otherwise, "let's go."

Squall arrived at the front gate, Rinoa, Selphie and Zell right behind him. He was relieved to see that at least the rest of Garden was following his orders. "Finsen," Squall pointed at a brown-haired, male SeeD. "Open the gate and close it as soon as we're all outside."

"Yes, Sir," Finsen rushed to open the gate.

Squall turned to his followers. "We'll begin the attack on my order," he took out his gunblade.

"Squall!" Elise ran up to him, "I want to fight by your side," she took out her sword.

_Fight by his side?_ Rinoa thought, she had wanted to fight by his side first. She knew she shouldn't be jealous, she knew that Squall didn't have any romantic feelings for Elise, but still, She didn't know how Elise felt about Squall. And it seemed to her that Elise had more than just sisterly feelings for him. But this was not the appropriate time to let jealousy take over, she decided, they were about to go into battle.

She felt nervous, she looked at Selphie and Zell to see if they felt the same, but if they did they were hiding it well. Selphie was holding her nunchaku, she saw pure anticipation glowing in her green eyes. Zell looked eager to go on the battlefield, "Just wait you bastards." He said in a barely audible voice.

"Be careful Elise," Squall said, she smiled at him, Rinoa rolled her eyes, _again with the smile,_ she thought. Squall took a hold of Rinoa's hand and gave it a little squeeze, then he let go.

They all walked out of the gate, Squall and Elise in the lead, closely followed by Zell, Selphie and Rinoa. Squall saw hundreds of people dressed in white rushing at them. "ATTACK!" He ordered.

All the students ran to meet their enemy, Squall looked back to make sure the gate was closed. The sound of clashing metal was all around him. He turned around to see two people in white running at him. He turned the palm of his right hand toward them. "Blizzaga!" One of the attackers fell to the ground, Squall cast a Firaga on the other one and he too fell to the ground.

A few feet away he saw Elise fighting a particularly large man. Squall was amazed to see how gracefully she fought, it was like watching a skilled artist at work. He knew the large man had no chance of winning. "Fira!" Squall heard Rinoa's voice behind him, he was happy to see that she was holding her ground, and why wouldn't she? After all, she was a powerful sorceress. He heard a groan behind him, then he saw someone dressed in white fall to the ground; Selphie stood by the fallen attacker holding her nunchaku.

"Whoo-hoo!" She said excitedly. "No daydreaming in the battlefield," she said giving Squall a serious look, "I saved your life," she said changing her expression to a smile, "you owe me!" She said turning around just in time to cast a Thundara spell on an attacker.

"...Whatever." Squall bowed to be more careful from that moment on.

"Damn it!" Elise heard Zell yell when he saw himself surrounded by the enemy. Elise couldn't help but smile, it would be so easy to help him, but it was easier to stand back and watch, she was behind him so he couldn't see her. "Holy!" He yelled, one of the attackers fell to the ground, he then kicked another one in the face and struck yet another on the chest with his elbow, but still they kept on coming. Zell stepped back and did nothing for a few moments.

"Two down, five to go." Elise said then turned away from Zell.

Zell briefly touched his forehead with his right hand. "There," he said, "Hell Fire!" Ifrit descended from the sky hurtling a huge ball of fire at the attackers.

"Oh, no," Elise said when she saw Ifrit, "not a GF..."

"Yeah!" Zell yelled excitedly, the attack had worked remarkably well.

"THEY HAVE GUARDIANS ON THEIR SIDE!" One of the attackers yelled, fear apparent in his voice.

"FORGIVE US!" Another attacker joined in, suddenly they all fell to their knees.

"This is so strange," Selphie said watching her two attackers drop to the ground on their knees.

"RETREAT!" Someone said. The entire White Army started to run the in the opposite direction of the Garden, leaving Squall and the rest of the students more confused than they had ever been.

 


	4. Selphie's Request

All the students made their way back to Garden, Zell was looking around trying to find Layla. He heard his name being called, he turned and saw her rushing toward him. "I was so worried about you." She said putting her arms around him.

"You're bleeding," Zell noticed the wound on her right arm.

"It's nothing."

"Come on," he said taking hold of her left hand, "we're going to the infirmary."

Since the battle had been short there had not been many serious injuries. Layla didn't have to wait long. A student assisting Dr. Kadowaki cleaned and bandaged her wound. Once that was done she and Zell walked out of the infirmary hand in hand.

"Wow," Layla said, "so you're our hero."

"Hardly, all I did was use a GF."

"But if you hadn't, the battle could still be going on."

"Someone was going to use a GF sooner or later."

"But you did it first," she kissed him, he smiled at her. "Zell?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't mean to ruin the moment but..."

His smile faded. "What?"

"I'm worried about you."

"Why?" He asked letting go of her hand and turning to face her.

"Well, you've been acting strange."

"I'm not the only one that's been acting strange," he snapped, "why are you so worried about me?"

"Because-"

"Wait a minute..." Zell said backing away. "You're not worried about _me_."

"What?"

"You're worried about Irvine."

"What?"

"You're afraid I'll kick his ass again!"

"Zell, I-"

"You know what?" He interrupted. "You can both go to Hell," he stormed off.

* * *

Like many other students, Selphie was in the cafeteria trying to get a cold drink. Once she got her drink she scanned the room for a table to sit in, she spotted Irvine and decided to join him.

"Hey, Selphie," he stood up from his chair and pulled another out for her.

"Thanks," he was always such a gentleman to her, "strange battle, wasn't it?"

"You can say that again."

"Irvine?"

"Yes, Miss Selphie?"

"Why is Zell mad at you?"

"I wish I knew."

"You have no idea?"

"What I've gathered so far is that he heard that something happened between me and his girlfriend."

"Nothing did happen, right?"

"Of course not! I would never mess around with a girl that I knew was involved with another guy, especially if that guy is my friend."

"Really?" Selphie sounded relieved.

"...Selphie..." Irvine swallowed. "I've been trying, for quite some time now-"

"This is Squall speaking." Irvine was interrupted by the announcement on the intercom. "As soon as we have everyone back in Garden we will leave Deling City. I don't want to put the city in danger, until this problem is resolved we will move to an unpopulated area. I also want to congratulate everyone on a job well done. And one more thing, no one will be allowed to come inside Garden without proper identification."

"Hi," Elise said grabbing an empty chair. "Mind if I join you?"

_Can't say no when she's already sitting down_ , Irvine rolled his eyes. Once again he would have to wait until he built up enough courage.

"Hi, Elise," Selphie said brightly.

"Irvine," Elise turned to him, "are you all right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, I heard that Zell got you pretty good today."

"He didn't _get_ me. I don't mean to be rude, but I have to go. I'll see you later Selphie."

"I don't think he wants to talk about that," Selphie said watching him leave.

"You must be worried about Trabia," Elise said, surprising Selphie.

"How did you know I would be worried about Trabia?"

"Oh. I was looking at your website earlier. You should go ask Squall to take you there. I mean if they attacked us for no apparent reason, who knows? Maybe they're just going after _all_ the Gardens, and you know Trabia is not strong enough to defend itself yet."

"Maybe you're right."

"Of course I am. You need to make sure that all your friends are all right."

"I really should."

"Well, I have to go."

"Thanks, Elise." She was right Selphie thought she felt awful for not thinking about that herself.

* * *

After making his announcement Squall decided to go to his dorm and rest for a while. As he stepped out of the elevator he couldn't help but wonder who those people dressed in white were. _Why did they praise the GF? Why didn't they have uniforms? They have only attacked once before, the day that Elise disappeared and now...that she is back. Could there be a connection?_ What was he thinking? He knew it had to be a coincidence, there was no way that Elise could be involved with the White Army. He was a few doors away from his dorm when a voice startled him.

"You're deep in thought." It was Elise.

"What?"

"I was calling you, didn't you hear me?"

"Sorry."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course."

"I don't mean to stick my nose where it doesn't belong but...I just saw Zell go into the Training Center, I thought he was supposed to be in the Disciplinary Room."

"Well he was, but now I've decided not to punish him until I know exactly why he was fighting with Irvine. Plus after what happened today, I would feel more comfortable knowing that if we go into battle again he won't be locked up."

"Do you know what your problem is Squall?" Elise said looking into his eyes.

Her gaze was so powerful, Squall felt the urge to turn away, but found that he could not. He felt his mind start to cloud. He took a deep breath and finally said, "problem?"

"You are too nice." Squall gave her a quizzical look. "A commander should be strict, never letting someone get away with breaking the rules just because that person is his or her friend. You give your friends more chances than other people would, they are always asking you to let them do this and that. They take advantage of your generosity."

"I don't see it that way."

She walked up to him and whispered in his ear. "You know I'm right. Think about it. You need to be stricter, you need to let them know who's boss, you don't want Cid stripping you of your title as Commander. If you don't follow my advice and establish your own rules, he might do just that. Be strict and don't let your friends take advantage of you. Also, don't tell anyone what we discussed." With that, she walked off.

_Too nice?_ No one had ever told him that before, sometimes he thought that he wasn't nice enough. **_They take advantage of your generosity_.** Came a voice from deep within his head, _do they really take advantage of me?_ Zell really had broken an important rule and did deserve to be punished for his actions. Maybe he _was_ too nice. **_Don't let them take advantage of you_ ,** he heard the voice again and it seemed to make sense. **_Be stricter, let them know who's boss._** _I should definitely be stricter_ ; he decided that the next time someone asked him for a favor he would have to say no. He was supposed to lead the Garden, not make friends.

* * *

Elise walked frantically around Garden, where the hell was Selphie? She had been looking for her for over a half hour, she needed to find her quick she was running out of time. She finally spotted her walking toward the dormitories.

"Selphie!"

"Hi."

"Did you ask Squall yet?"

"No, I can't find him."

"He's in his dorm, come on, I'll go with you."

They were soon standing in front of Squall's door. "I don't want to disturb him if he's sleeping," Selphie said.

"Go ahead, I'll wait for you here."

"OK." She knocked.

"Who is it?" Came Squall's voice.

"It's Selphie."

"Come in."

Selphie looked at Elise. "Go," she whispered. Selphie entered the room and closed the door.

"What do you want?" Squall asked.

"Um...I'm kind of worried about Trabia...So I was wondering if...um...we could go check and see if they haven't been attacked or something," she said timidly.

"No."

Selphie didn't know what to say, he surprised her with his answer, she was not prepared to hear him object.

"I am sick and tired of being taken advantage of."

"What do you mean Squall? I don't understand."

"Whatever."

"Sorry to have bothered you." Said Selphie opening the door. Squall said nothing.

She stepped outside and once again closed the door. "What did he say?" Elise asked her.

"No."

"What? That is so inconsiderate of him."

Selphie hung her head. "It's not like him, really. Everyone is acting so strange."

"He is being unfair. He stays here an extra day just so he can impress Rinoa's father, but he won't go to Trabia to make sure no one is hurt. If you ask me, I think you need a new leader. Someone like Quistis."

"Why do you say that?"

A SeeD walked by them, he stood a few feet from them unlocking his door. Elise moved closer to Selphie not wanting him to hear their conversation. She locked eyes with Selphie; poisonous green burning into emerald. "Quistis actually cares about her friends. She is never unfair. Think about it, when has she not worried about the fate of others? She cares about you and this Garden much more than Squall does. If you asked her to take you to Trabia she wouldn't even have to think about it. She would be a much better leader, a more experienced leader."

"But-"

"You know I'm right. I have to go. And don't tell anyone about this." She whispered, then rushed off.

_She can't be right_ , Selphie thought as she watched Elise leave. Squall cared about them, but if he really cared about them so much, why hadn't he agreed to go to Trabia? He did stay in Deling City an extra day just to make Rinoa happy, which in Selphie's opinion was very selfish. **_He is being unfair, Quistis actually cares about her friends_.** A familiar voice echoed inside her head. _But he's not acting like himself,_ Selphie thought, **_yes he is, you just haven't asked him something like this before_.** _Quistis wouldn't do that, Squall really was being unfair, yes, Quistis would make a much better leader_. Selphie rushed away from the dormitories, she had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Elise walked stealthily toward the front gate, she was happy to see the guard was alone, he had his back to her. She approached him carefully, "Sleep." The guard fell to the ground, she turned around to see if she was being followed, she didn't see anyone. She ran to the gate, she didn't want the Sleep spell to wear off before she was gone.

Elise had been walking for about ten minutes, she stopped and entered a small hole on the side of an ordinary looking hill. It was dark and cold inside, she walked down some stone steps, a light could be seen at the bottom of the steps. She reached the last step, a large, brightly lit tunnel stood before her, it was occupied by the entire White Army.

"Sorceress!" They all started to bow their heads.

 


	5. The New Sorceress

"You fools," Elise said in a low voice. "How am I to achieve my goal if I have an army of idiots on my side?"

"Forgive us," said the large man she had been fighting earlier, "but the Guardians were on their side."

"So what?"

"Well..." The man said nervously, "They are our Gods, we can't fight our own Gods."

"Those are not your Gods!" Elise was now wishing she had not fooled them into thinking that GFs were Gods. How could she not have thought that they would eventually have to fight GFs? She could not afford another mistake of that magnitude. She would need to think carefully. When she spoke again her voice was calm and concerned. "They are no longer the Gods we have come to know. I have received some news that deeply sadden me." She lowered her head; there was absolute silence.

"Prior to the battle I conferred with Guardian Force Luna, whom we all know is one of the Great Hyne's Knights. She informed me about a rebellion, one to which humans are oblivious." She was quiet for a few seconds, she needed to choose her words with care. "Some of the Guardian Forces have grown tired of serving Hyne...Therefore they have decided to join those who oppose him."

"No!" A young woman cried, there were soon other yells of surprise and disbelief.

Elise held her hands high in the air. "I know this is devastating news!" She yelled over the noise, everyone started to slowly quiet down. "I myself could not believe it, and even though it pains me to say this...we must fight against the Guardians."

"But we can't." Someone in the back shouted.

"We must." Elise said her voice full of determination. "We must stay loyal to our Gods, especially to Hyne, God of all Gods. Any enemy of His is an enemy of ours, and if the Guardians oppose Him, we can no longer see them as our Gods." There was absolute silence, Elise knew she had to end this quickly, Garden would be leaving shortly and she didn't want to be left behind. "Are you with me?" She asked.

Silence.

She needed to convince them quickly.

"Remember who I am. I am the one chosen by Hyne's own hand, the one chosen to lead you to your destiny. Hyne wants you to help me, I need to have my revenge on those who hurt me, those who oppose Hyne; those who will not rest until they see me dead. They know that only I can bring you closer to Hyne and they will stop at nothing to prevent that from happening." She gave them a dangerous look. "Don't make me think that I made a mistake by choosing you."

"We are with you, Sorceress!" They all yelled.

"I knew you would understand. Hyne thanks you." She looked around. "Where is Zander?"

"He and a few others went into the city to get some supplies." A young woman answered.

"Inform him about everything we covered. I need to go, but be prepared to attack. I will let you know when the proper moment arrives."

_What fools,_ Elise thought as she walked back to Garden, _to believe that GFs were gods, the Guardians of Hyne_. "Luna, Knight of the Great Hyne." She laughed. Luna was a GF she had acquired when she was still a student at Balam Garden, it wasn't a very powerful GF, but it did look impressive. She quickened her step, the last thing she wanted to do was get left behind. "Time to wreak some more havoc." She said as she reached the gate.

* * *

Balam Garden flew most of the night. Nearing morning Squall had decide to stop near a forest in the Centra continent, he had chosen this area because it was unpopulated, he didn't want to put innocent people in danger.

A few hours later Riona sat alone in the cafeteria, staring at a bowl of oatmeal. She saw Irvine and waved at him to join her.

"Mornin'," Irvine said sitting beside her.

"Hi. Have you seen Quistis this morning?"

"I've seen her around, she's busy giving everyone orders."

"That is so strange."

"Have you seen Selphie's pretty little face around somewhere?"

"Yeah, she's in a really bad mood. I saw her in the classroom working on her website, I asked her what she was doing and she said, 'get lost, it's none of your business'."

"Selphie said that? Geez, that's really strange."

"Tell me about it, Squall and Zell are acting strange too."

"You don't have to remind me."

Rinoa thought for a moment. "Irvine, don't you think we've been saying that word a lot lately?"

"What word?"

"Strange."

"I guess."

"Ever since little miss What's Her Name appeared. There's something really...not normal about her. I can't explain it, but-"

"I think you're just jealous of her," Irvine said without thinking.

"What?"

"I mean...so you think Elise has something to do with all this _strangeness_?" He tried to fix the damage.

"I am not jealous! And yes, I do think she has something to do with all this...or maybe...I don't know."

"You know, you really shouldn't judge a person and call them 'not normal' before you really know them." Irvine wasn't really defending Elise, but it upset him whenever he heard someone talk about another person in the way Rinoa just had. He had to live with that, people judging him before they got to know him, people going by the first impressions.

"Maybe." Rinoa knew she shouldn't, but with Elise, she just couldn't help herself.

"I know she's a little nosy but that doesn't mean that she is causing all our problems. Besides, she's really fine."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I can't explain it, but there's something wrong about that girl."

"Everything looks right to me." Irvine smiled.

"You know what I mean!" Rinoa snapped.

"I better go," Irvine said getting up.

"Good riddance." Rinoa sat there a few minutes staring at her oatmeal again. She just knew that Elise had something to do with all this, there was something in her eyes that put her on edge, not to mention how she was always trying to get close to Squall and smiling at him. She pictured Elise's face in the oatmeal, she grabbed her glass of orange juice and started to pour it into the bowl, the face quickly started to melt. "Just like the Wicked Witch," she said.

"Interesting combo." A voice startled her.

"Eek! Zell, I was just...Wow" She said when she saw his messy hair and wrinkled clothing. "You look awful...I mean, very _anti-Zell_." She corrected herself.

"Thanks. You would too if you had spent the night in the Disciplinary Room."

"Oh, sorry."

"I need to show you something, it's way weird."

"What?"

"Come on, it's important." He said pulling back her chair.

"OK. Geez, I'm coming."

A few minutes later Zell and Rinoa were in the second-floor classroom. "Zell, why are you keeping me in suspense?"

Zell ignored her, he was doing a search on one of the computers. "Here look." He said once he found Selphie's website.

_Welcome to Selphie's new and improved website! I have added a new section, it's called 'The Squall Hate Page'._

"What?" Rinoa looked at Zell.

"Just keep reading," Zell said, "it gets better."

_Click here to enter_. Rinoa clicked.

_If like me, you're sick and tired of our new 'leader' please join my club. I have already recruited my first member. I would like to nominate her as our new Commander: Miss Quistis Trepe. She's caring, intelligent (both of which Squall is soooo not) and has much better social skills than Mr. Leonheart. Quistis is also better liked by everyone and has her own fan club! What more could you ask for in a leader? Her vocabulary also expands way beyond 'Whatever'. If you're interested in joining my club e-mail me at:_

Rinoa was speechless for a few seconds, Zell sighed. "That's exactly what I said."

Rinoa finally spoke there was unmistakable shock in her voice. "How could Selphie do something so mean? This is not like her!"

"Quistis too, you should've seen her yesterday."

"And you." Rinoa turned to look at him.

"I thought you were the only one who was on my side!"

"Zell, I'm not on any side, I'm just worried about everyone."

"Worried, yeah." Zell scoffed. "Why can't you open your eyes and see that I'm right! Irvine is nothing but a dirty dog!"

"Zell-"

"Where the hell is Selphie?" Squall demanded as he burst into the room.

"We don't know," Rinoa responded.

"Are you two hiding her?" Squall asked in dangerous tone.

"NO!" Zell and Rinoa said in unison.

"If I find out that you-"

"HERE I AM!" Selphie yelled from the door. "Come get me! You uncaring, anti-social FREAK!" She challenged Squall, then ran off.

Squall was about to run after her but thought better of it. He turned to Zell and Rinoa. "I will make an example of her, and Quistis too." He said in a very low voice.

"Squall," Rinoa started, "are you-"

"I WILL NO LONGER BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!" He yelled making both Zell and Rinoa jump, he then stormed out of the room.

" _I_ am acting weird?" Zell looked at Rinoa. "I'm gonna go take a shower. If you see Irvine, tell him we're not finished." He walked out leaving Rinoa alone in the classroom.

_What is happening to everyone? Even Squall is acting strange now_. It seemed that only Irvine and herself were still normal. She had no one to turn to, unless...She ran out of the room, a smile forming on her lips.

* * *

Elise brushed her hair in front of the mirror. "You are so clever. Soon you will have your revenge." She smiled at her reflection, she was amazed at how easily she had been able to manipulate the minds of her followers...and Squall. The thought of manipulating Squall saddened her, she wished... _no I mustn't think about that_. She forced Squall out of her mind.

Her soldiers were ready, they would do whatever she wanted them to do, they had blind trust in her, the fools. But if they ever discovered that she had been lying to them and manipulating their minds all these years, there would be dire consequences. But there was no need to worry about that; everything was going extremely well.

There was a knock, she put her brush on the table and got up to open the door. She never imagined who would be standing in the hall.

"Hello."

Elise was speechless for a few seconds, she could not believe her eyes. "...Seifer." She finally managed to say.

Seifer's voice was cold. "You're not as smart as you think, you little sorceress bitch."

 


	6. The Past They Shared

Elise tried to close the door, but Seifer was too quick and too strong for her. He pushed the door with all his might, causing Elise to fall and land hard on the floor. Extreme pain in her right elbow forced her to close her eyes, she opened them again when she felt the cold steel of Seifer's gunblade at her throat.

"Get up, bitch!"

Elise smiled up at him, her pain was slowly decreasing. "I can't. If I move the blade will rip through my flesh." She said mockingly. "And you don't really want to be found in here with my dead body. Bad publicity, you know."

Seifer knew she was right, he had acted on anger rather than reason, he had not though about the consequences that killing Elise could bring him. He moved the blade away a few inches, she slowly got up. "Do you know what would make me really happy right now?" He asked, the blade steady in his hand still pointing at her throat.

"Killing me no doubt," Elise said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Sinking your blade into my soul."

"You have no soul."

"Who needs a damn soul." She said darkly. "I admit it, I made a mistake." Her tone changed completely, "I should have made sure your seeming lifeless body was truly dead." She smiled sweetly. "How did you survive? I'm extremely curious."

"I didn't come to discuss survival tactics. I came to show everyone your real face."

"Squall!"

Seifer turned around, there was no one there. Elise took this opportunity to kick the gunblade out of Seifer's hand. "Blind!"

Seifer couldn't see anything. "Damn it!"

"Bye." He heard her say, he heard footsteps, then the slamming door.

"Esuna." He found Elise gone once he was able to see again. "Damn it!" He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He broke the handle with his gunblade, then rushed into the hall, he had to find her before she accomplished her mission.

After unsuccessfully searching for Elise, once his anger had subsided, Seifer decided it would be better to approach the situation differently. He realized that by now Elise had probably run to Cid and Squall with a story of how he had tried to kill her. Why hadn't he thought things through before coming into Garden? He walked into the training center, he decided to go in the secret meeting area because he knew it would be empty at that time of the day, and he would have time to think about what to do.

He sat on the ground and closed his eyes. If only he had known who Elise was back then...

It had only been a few days after Ultimicia's defeat, Seifer stood staring at the ocean, but not really seeing it, he was trying to figure out what to do next. He hadn't even bothered to go back to Garden, he knew he was not welcome there. He wanted to go somewhere where no one knew him, up until now being in Dollet hadn't been so bad, except for the few times that people had stared at him and then whispered to each other once his back was turned. He had heard about a small town named Winhill, there he was sure no one would know him, that would be a nice change.

"Seifer?" He heard a female voice behind him. "Seifer Almasy?"

_So much for no one knowing me_ , Seifer thought bitterly. He turned around and saw the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. She was wearing a long black skirt and a long-sleeved black top. Her red hair blew gently with the breeze and her bright green eyes smiled up at him. Seifer was speechless.

"You _are_ Seifer...aren't you?"

"Ah...yes...do we know each other? You seem very familiar."

"I used to be a student at Balam Garden." She extended her hand, "My name is Elise, Elise Avalon."

He shook her hand. "Wait. I thought you were-"

"Dead. I know. You don't look very busy, so..." She smiled sweetly at him, "if you wanted to take a walk with me I could tell you my story."

_What the hell?_ Seifer thought, maybe hanging out with a gorgeous woman would take his mind off things. "Sure, lead the way."

They spent the entire day together. She told him her story, he told her his. Seifer found himself telling her things he had never told anyone before. After that day they spent almost all their time together, Seifer trusted Elise with his life, he had never felt that way about anyone. He would have done anything that she asked him to, sometimes he had the odd feeling that she had hypnotized him, but that was ridiculous, he thought, that must be what falling in love was like.

About two weeks after they had met, Elise disappeared. They had agreed to meet at a cafe when Seifer went in the waiter gave him a note, it read: _Don't look for me. I'll find you when the time comes_. He didn't look for her, he wasn't about to go chasing after someone who obviously didn't want to be chased. He had very strong feelings for her, but he was also very proud and didn't want to admit to those feelings, besides, she had said that she would come back.

A week later Seifer was in his hotel room when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." It was Raijin. "What is it?"

"That pretty girl with the red hair asked me to tell ya somethin'."

"Elise?" Seifer stood up from his bed. "What?"

"She said she wanted to meet ya at the place where she first found ya."

"When?" Seifer asked eagerly.

"Tonight at midnight. You need to be careful, ya know."

"Why?"

"She gives me the creeps. It's those green eyes of hers, ya know?"

"You're crazy."

"Well, I'm just warnin' ya." Raijin walked out.

As Seifer walked to the beach he couldn't help feeling happy. He was going to see her again, the only person who had ever understood him. He spotted her, she was wearing black as usual, her hair was tied back in a ponytail. Seifer noticed she was hiding something behind her back.

"Hi." He said.

"Did you miss me, Seifer?"

"I didn't think I'd see you again."

"Well, I just had to see _you_ again."

Seifer smiled. "You look great."

"Thank you."

"What do you have behind your back?" Seifer asked.

"My sword." She showed him the silver blade.

"Why do you have a sword?"

She stepped toward him, then she put her right hand on his chest. "Traitor." She said.

"What?" Seifer asked confused.

"Bio." Elise said then stepped away from Seifer.

He fell to his knees, he felt as if the life was being drained out of his body, he tried to get up but failed. His confusion was soon turned to anger.

"Firaga!" He yelled.

Elise moved out of the way. "Now, now." She laughed, "We can't have you doing that. Silence!"

Seifer tried to cast another Firaga spell but was unable to speak. He felt like he was going to be sick, he saw Elise standing over him.

"Don't move." She said putting the gleaming sword against his chest. "I'm going to kill you." She said simply. "You betrayed Ultimicia, so you deserve to die. You failed her. Her orders were simple, yet you didn't follow them, you are worthless, when I'm done with you, I will destroy those little SeeDs as well, especially Squall and that excuse for a sorceress, Rinoa." Her voice was ice cold.

"You see, Ultimicia is, or _was_ thanks to them and to you, my great-grand daughter. For years I've communicated with her through dreams, I knew what was to come, I knew of the battle between SeeD and Ultimicia, that is the reason why I was enrolled in Garden in the first place. But the rest of the story is boring, I doubt you want to hear something boring before you die."

"Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, I _am_ a sorceress, Ultimicia inherited her powers from me. She told me that I gave her my powers just before I died of old age when she was a baby. Once I receive my full power I will be much stronger than Ultimicia was, and when that happens I will be able to avenge her by destroying Balam Garden and all of SeeD. Anyway..." Without warning, she sank the sword into his chest. "Sorry to have bored you, I know I said I wouldn't, but I just had to share my story with someone."

Seifer tried to pull out the sword, but he was far too weak, he lost consciousness.

When he woke up he was in a white room, there was an IV in his right arm. He looked up saw Raijin and Fujin standing by his bedside.

"SEIFER."

"Where am I?" Seifer asked weakly, his mouth was very dry and he felt sharp pains in his chest.

"HOSPITAL."

"You scared us, ya know? We thought you were dead. Who did this to you anyway?" Raijin asked.

"Elise." Said Seifer remembering their little encounter.

Fujin shook her head. "EVIL."

"I have to find her." Seifer tried to get up, but Fujin stopped him.

"REST."

"She's right, ya know. The doctor said you need to rest, he said you'll be here a while. You don't wanna go and make your injury worse."

They were right, if he wanted to get even with Elise he would have to be fully recovered.

One month later, here he was, ready to have his revenge. But he had made a big mistake by going to Elise first, especially when she was alone. He had to warn someone. "Rinoa. She'll believe me." Seifer got up and made his way out of the training center.

 


	7. The Sorceress' Knight

Elise ran out of her room locking the door behind her. How could she have made yet another mistake? She had thought she was finally ready to have her revenge, but everything just kept going wrong. "I can do this. I have not yet gotten myself into something that I can't get out of." She needed to stop Seifer before he was able to see Cid or Squall. She saw Zell coming out of his room, _perfect_ , she thought. Before he could close the door she pushed him back inside, she went in after him and locked the door.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you!"

"Zell I-"

"It was you!" Zell said suddenly remembering.

"What?"

"You came into my room yesterday."

"No, I didn't." Elise lied.

"Yes, I remember now. You were the one who told me about Irvine and Layla. I've been goin' nuts trying to remember where I heard that. Wait a minute," realization dawned on him, "how do I know were telling me the truth?"

This was the last thing Elise needed, Zell was stronger willed that she had given him credit for. She regretted leaving her sword in her room, she could have been able to kill Zell and then blame it on Seifer. But since she didn't have a weapon she didn't want to go ahead with that idea. _I'll just have to rely on my powers,_ she thought.

She surprised Zell by throwing her arms around him. "I'm not lying." She whispered in his ear. "Why would I do that?"

"Let go."

"I have nothing to gain." She kept whispering in his ear. "Think about it, Zell. Everything I told you is true, they are the ones who lied to you, not me." She let go.

_Is she telling the truth?_ Zell wondered, **_yes, of course she is_** , **_she has nothing to gain_.** He heard a voice inside his head. How could he have doubted her?

"I need your help, Zell," Elise sounded worried. "Seifer is here, he tried to kill me."

"That bastard is here?"

"You don't like Seifer?"

"How can I like that son of a...where the hell is he?"

Things were looking up for Elise. She once again put her arms around his neck. "Kill him then." She whispered in his ear.

"I can't do that." Zell pulled away.

"Why?" Elise asked exasperated.

"Well, I don't hate him _that_ much!"

"Fine." She didn't have time to convince him, Seifer was probably already looking for Cid. "He's in my room, he tried to kill me. Help me." She pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'm going to kick his ass."

"I need to alert Squall, you go to my room."

"I'm gonna enjoy this." Zell rushed out of his dorm.

Now all Elise had to do was find Squall.

* * *

Squall sat in the cafeteria staring at the untouched plate of food before him. He had been angry when he first read Selphie's new web page, but now that his anger had subsided he felt hurt. _How could Selphie have done something like that? And Quistis supporting her, if that's the way my 'friends' treat me, what can I expect from the rest of the students_. _But I won't let anyone else humiliate me like Selphie and Quistis have_. _I will punish anyone who opposes me, I am through being the 'nice guy'._

"Squall," Elise came and sat by him. "Help me," she urged.

"What's wrong?"

"Seifer is here."

"What?" Squall stood up.

"He went to my room. Sit down." Squall sat down, "he tried to kill me and-"

"Wait," Squall interrupted, "why would he try to kill you if he doesn't even know you, I don't recall you two ever talking. Why would he come here to kill you?"

_Damn it!_

"Well?" Squall demanded.

"...You're right, I didn't know him well...not until recently." She lowered her head. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to talk about this."

"What?"

"A few days after you defeated Ultimicia," she began, "in one of my attempts to catch up with you, I found Seifer. After talking for a while it was obvious that we were attracted to each other. I am not proud of what I did next, although I have a boyfriend...I didn't tell Seifer. We went out a few times and I soon realized that he was getting serious."

"But you weren't?"

"Right. I liked him, but I love Zander."

"Zander?"

"My boyfriend," she smiled, "anyway, I didn't want to hurt Seifer, so instead of telling him the truth, I avoided all the places where I knew he would look for me, I was waiting for Zander, so I couldn't leave. So finally Zander came, Seifer found out at what hotel I was staying, so he went to look for me. Apparently, he asked for me at the reception desk and they stupidly told him that I was with my boyfriend. Needless to say, he was furious; he broke down my door, and when he saw Zander in there with me he got even angrier...He tried to kill Zander and kept yelling that I was next. I managed to cast a Sleep spell on him, and we were able to escape before he woke up."

"Did you notify the authorities?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I felt so guilty, that I didn't want to get him in trouble. I know I am the one to blame for what happened. I was hoping that once his anger cleared he would see things differently."

"But if he tried to kill you-"

"I know! But I felt sorry for him...Squall," Elise lowered her head, "what's the use? I'll just tell you the real reason why I didn't notify the authorities. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, I was scared of what he might do if I talked to anyone...He had told me something that..."

"What did he tell you?"

"I promised I wouldn't tell. He made me promise...never mind, forget it."

"You need to tell me."

"But...I-I'm scared of what he might do to me."

"Elise, tell me. I promise I won't let him hurt you."

Elise looked into Squall's eyes, then said,"...Seifer told me that...he was never...under Ultimicia's influence."

"...What?" Squall heard her words, but they didn't make sense.

"He said he made that story up just to get out of trouble." She leaned very close to Squall, "It all makes sense now, doesn't it? Why he disappeared after her defeat, everything. Am I right?"

Did it make sense? Squall wasn't sure. His head felt foggy again. **_Of course_** , he heard a voice inside his head, **_Seifer is no good_**. **_He would lie and cheat his way out of any situation_.** Squall's confusion was replaced by anger.

"That son-of-a-bitch." Squall said in a low voice, he stood up and started toward the exit.

"Where are you going?" Elise went after him.

He turned around, "I'm going to find him, then I'm going to make sure he spends the rest of his life in prison."

"Prison?" Elise was disappointed, she was hoping he would be angry enough to go kill Seifer, but no matter, she would kill them all soon enough. The only thing that mattered now, was that Squall wouldn't believe a word Seifer said.

"Yes, prison," said Squall misunderstanding the disappointment in her voice, "he helped Ultimicia in her plot to destroy the world, that will land anyone in prison forever."

"I know! Just go, he may be too much for Zell to handle."

"I doubt it, he's not as tough as he thinks he is." With that, he walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

Dr. Kadowaki sat at her desk, after the battle she had done inventory and found that they had run low on a few medical supplies. She looked up from her papers when she heard someone enter the infirmary.

"Seifer, what are you doing here?"

"Doctor, I need your help." Seifer's face was expressionless.

"With what?"

"I need to find Rinoa."

"Why?"

"Please call her Doctor," he walked toward the desk, "it's a matter of life and death."

"...Alright." Dr. Kadowaki said hesitantly. She picked up her phone and pressed the intercom button. "Rinoa Heartily, please report to the infirmary immediately."

A few minutes later Rinoa came into the infirmary. "Is there something wrong, Doctor?" She asked concerned.

"There is someone here to see you."

Seifer emerged from one of the small patient rooms. "Hi, Rinoa."

Dr. Kadowaki sat at her desk again, she didn't want to leave Rinoa alone with Seifer. He seemed to have come in peace, but she didn't want to run the risk of Rinoa being harmed.

Rinoa stared at Seifer, not knowing what to say. They were quiet for a few seconds.

"It's been a while." Seifer broke the silence.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to warn you about something, a sorceress is here, and she wants to destroy you along with everyone at Garden."

"What?"

"Her name's Elise, you probably don't know her-"

"Of course I know her! I knew there was something strange about her...but a sorceress, are you sure?"

Seifer told Rinoa everything he knew about Elise. He told her everything from the moment he saw Elise, to the night on the beach when she tried to kill him.

"I'm so glad you're alright."

"Yeah. I was pretty damn lucky."

"Well, we have to warn Cid and Squall."

Seifer quickly blocked the door. "We can't."

"Why?"

"Because Elise probably already got to them. She knows I'm here."

"You're probably right." Rinoa thought for a moment. "Stay here, I'll ask Dr. Kadowaki not to tell anyone that you're here. I'll go see what's going on."

"Thanks, Rinoa."

"Thank _you_ , Seifer. I'm glad to see that everyone was wrong about you."

* * *

_How simple it is to manipulate people's minds,_ Elise thought, she had a confident smile on her face. She felt her power starting to grow; that was a good sign. She knew that would happen just before the eclipse, the day when she was to become a full-fledged sorceress.

She was passing by the parking lot when she heard her name being called, she turned to her left. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of a tall, dark-haired young man. "Don't come out!" She rushed toward him pushing him into the Parking Lot. "What are you doing here, Zander?"

"Elise, I needed to see you."

"You had your orders, you were supposed to wait for my signal like everyone else!"

"But I'm not everyone else, I'm your boyfriend, and your Knight."

"But if anyone sees you here-"

"I came to ask you not to go through with this." He raised his hand to touch her cheek, but she pushed him away.

Had she only known in the beginning what a pest Zander would become. She had met him about a year earlier, she had been looking for the perfect man to be her Knight, someone who could also keep her company and tell her how much he loved her. Zander was that perfect man, he was a skilled fighter and very good-looking, just what she was looking for.

She had tried to get his attention, but to no avail, he seemed preoccupied with his girlfriend. Elise would have just let him go and find someone else, but she felt very drawn to him, and she was so lonely that she didn't think she could wait until she found someone who truly wanted to be with her, if such a person even existed.

She decided that she would have to use her powers, Zander left his mother and his pregnant girlfriend for her. He had no choice, he believed that he was in love with Elise, and nothing was going to keep him away from her. Not even the people he loved and cared about.

For a while Elise enjoyed his company, he was sweet, loving and never questioned her orders. Lately, though, he had begun to annoy her, she wanted to get rid of him, but the fact that he was the one best suited to be her Knight refrained her from doing so.

"You know I can't stop now, Zander." Elise said firmly.

"Elise I-"

"I have been planning this since I was very young! Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a fourteen year old girl to recruit hundreds of people and convince them to fight for her cause!"

"I-"

"It is _very_ difficult, but _I_ did it!" Elise realized she was speaking very loudly, she lowered her voice. "I am not about to stop now. I already have them all turned against each other, I am so close to my goal. If they can't stand each other they won't fight together. This will make it much easier to defeat them. So you see, I can't stop."

"There's still time. You can still leave all this behind."

"No."

"I'm willing to do anything to make you stop. I won't be your Knight if you keep going." He threatened.

"Are you saying you're going to leave me?"

"No...I just-"

"Maybe that would be the best thing to do." She said coldly, "Yes, I no longer want to be with you."

Zander looked at her for a moment, he didn't think she was serious. "Elise, reconsider." He pleaded. "I love you so much, I just know that if you left all this we could live a normal life and be happy."

He was making her angry. How could he not understand? At this point she didn't care if she lost him, there were others who would make good knights as well, she really didn't want him with her anymore.

"Go to hell, Zander, I don't want a normal life. And you can't make me happy."

Her words cut him like a knife, the pain was apparent in his dark eyes. "You can't mean that, Elise."

Her green eyes burned into his. "You're free." She smiled cruelly as she released him from her power. "I don't want or need you anymore."

"...What have you done to me?" Zander asked stepping back. Memories flooded his mind, his mother, his girlfriend Deidra and the baby they were going to have. He had abandoned them, he remembered Deidra crying, begging him to stay. He looked at Elise, all he wanted to do was kill her, right then and there. All the love that he thought he felt for Elise was replaced by hate. He reached for his sword.

"Don't get too excited now. I would not recommend that, this place is full of SeeDs, they would catch you in no time. Now give me the sword before I start screaming bloody murder." He did as was told, he knew she was right. "That's a smart boy." She smiled.

"I will turn your whole damn army against you." Zander threatened.

"You can't." Elise laughed. "They are all under my power, just like you were, and that's how they will remain until I decide otherwise." She turned and walked away.

Zander was alone in the parking lot, he watched Elise go. "It is _you_ who shouldn't mess with me, Sorceress."

 


	8. A Need for Discipline

Rinoa stepped out of the infirmary, she was unpleasantly surprised to see Squall approaching. "Oh...no." She said under her breath. "Squall," she rushed to meet him, "where are you going?" She couldn't let him see Seifer yet.

"I'm going to ask Dr. Kadowaki if she's seen Seifer." Squall said walking past her.

"Seifer isn't here," Rinoa stepped in front of him, "she hasn't seen him."

"How do you know?"

"Because I was just talking to her and she didn't say anything." She smiled, Squall walked around her, he was now at the entrance. She quickly stepped in front of him again. "How did Seifer get in?" She asked attempting to stop him from going inside.

"Why don't you want me to go in there?" He eyed her suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" Rinoa smiled again.

"Is Seifer in there?"

"No!"

"Yes." Came Seifer's voice from behind Rinoa, startling her.

_Just wonderful,_ Rinoa thought, he had just succeeded in making her look incredibly bad. There was silence for a few moments, Seifer and Squall seemed to be involved in a staring contest, neither moved his gaze away.

"Seifer came to help us." Rinoa finally said.

"We don't need his help." Squall said keeping his eyes on Seifer.

"You need me more than you think, _Mr. Leader_ ," Seifer said coldly.

"He came to warn us about Elise," Rinoa said.

"What?" Squall turned to Rinoa. "What do you mean? She already told me everything."

"What did she tell you?" Seifer demanded.

"That you came to kill her because you were jealous."

"That's ridiculous, she's the one who nearly killed _me!_ " Seifer pointed to his own chest.

"Please you guys," Rinoa said, "calm down. Squall, please listen to what Seifer has to say."

"Why are you defending him, Rinoa?"

"I'm not!"

"Seifer, you are coming with me." Squall said walking toward him.

"Make me, I ain't goin' anywhere with you!"

"You will be staying in the disciplinary room while I make the arrangements."

"I will not! And what arrangements are you blabbering about?"

"The arrangements to take you to the D-District Prison." Squall said menacingly.

"On what charge?" Seifer asked outraged.

"Conspiracy, war crimes, treason-"

"I was cleared of all that."

"Here's some news you may find interesting," Squall said turning to Rinoa, "let's see if you still want to defend him after you hear this," he turned to face Seifer. "He was never under Ultimicia's influence."

"Shut up, Leader Boy! You know damn well that's not true!"

"Don't lie, Seifer, you always knew what you were doing!"

"Squall stop, please," Rinoa begged.

"Why should I stop? I'm only telling the truth."

"I'm warning you to shut the hell up." Seifer's voice took on a dangerous tone.

"You would like me to do that, wouldn't you? You don't want me to tell people the truth, you don't want me to tell them that when your plans got ruined you lied because you're nothing but a COWARD!"

Without warning, Seifer punched Squall in the face forcing him back a few steps. Seifer knew that he was many things, but a coward was not one of them.

Squall launched himself at Seifer knocking him to the ground, he punched him in the face causing his lip to bleed.

"Stop it!" Rinoa tried to pull Squall away from Seifer, but to no avail.

Hearing the commotion Dr. Kadowaki came out of her office. "Squall what's wrong with you!" She said when she saw him wrestling with Seifer on the ground.

"Doctor, help me separate them!" Rinoa said.

Dr. Kadowaki spotted Zell and another student walking by the infirmary. "Zell, Help us!"

Zell and his companion rushed to the scene. "Squall?" He asked surprised when he saw Squall on the ground hitting _someone_. With the help of the other student, Zell succeeded in pulling Squall away.

"Let me go!" Squall tried to squirm away. A crowd began to form around them.

"YOU!" Zell yelled when he saw who Squall had been fighting with. He dove at Seifer knocking him to the ground once again. Seifer managed to hit Zell in the face, Zell proceeded to hit him back.

Irvine was walking back from the Disciplinary Room. He had gone to visit Selphie but didn't stay long, he had quickly grown tired of Selphie's conversation. All she would talk about was what a horrible leader Squall was. He decided to visit her when she had cooled down a little.

"Hey!" Irvine heard a student call to another. "There's a fight at the Infirmary! It's between Zell, Squall and Seifer!" He said excitedly.

"Cool!" The other responded. "Let's go see!"

When Irvine reached the Infirmary, he saw two SeeDs holding Squall back and a student trying to separate Zell and Seifer. He rushed over to help the student, with Irvine's help they were finally able to pull Zell back.

"LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARD!" Zell yelled pulling away from them. He stared at Irvine, anger burning in his blue eyes. Without warning he hit him.

Meanwhile, Squall squirmed away from the two SeeDs and proceeded to fight with Seifer once more. Zell and Irvine were also busy exchanging blows.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" Boomed Cid's voice. There was instant silence. Seifer was about to punch Squall again, but stopped himself and turned his eyes to the Headmaster. Zell had Irvine pinned against the wall, they too turned to look at Cid. "The four of you! To the Disciplinary Room!"

Silence.

"NOW!" They all hesitantly followed Cid.

* * *

Cid Kramer paced back and forth in front of the two cells in the Disciplinary Room. He and Xu had separated the guilty party into two groups. It had taken them several minutes to figure out the correct combination of people to put in the cells. They found that Zell could not be within fifty feet of Irvine without trying to hit him. He also couldn't be in the same cell as Seifer for obvious reasons. Seifer and Squall was another pair they could not afford to put in the same cell.

Cid and Xu decided to put Seifer, Irvine and Selphie, who had been taken there earlier under Squall's orders along with Quistis, in one cell and Squall, Zell and Quistis in the other. Quistis was extremely unhappy to be in the same cell with Squall, but she had no choice. They had quickly found that putting Selphie and Squall together was not a good idea, to say the least. Selphie repeatedly challenged Squall to a fight and had tried to hit him twice.

Cid finally stopped pacing and faced the two cells. He looked from one guilty face to the next, shook his head and finally said:

"I can honestly say that I have never been more disappointed in all my life. Four of my best SeeDs." They all looked down. "My commander for Heaven's sake!" Squall shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Squall," Cid continued, "I know I don't even have to say how disappointed in you I am. This is your first and last warning, any more trouble from you and you will be stripped of your title." Squall's face was expressionless, what could he say to that?

"Zell and Irvine, other than Squall you are the last people I expected this from. In all the years you have been here Zell, you have never given me any trouble, and now twice in two days!" Zell turned to face the wall.

"I haven't known you for very long, Irvine, but I always saw in you a model student, and you have proved me wrong." Irvine opened his mouth to say that he had merely defended himself but thought that now was not the best time to do that.

"Seifer, I always thought that when you came back it would be to join our Garden once again, not to start fights and make trouble. And to make matters worse, you forced your way in! We found the unconscious gate guard, he's in the Infirmary now."

Seifer looked down, he knew he had done wrong. He never thought that Cid would want him to come back, but from what he'd just heard it sounded like he did. But with the things he had just done, would he still welcome him?

"And to add to my disappointment, Quistis and Selphie, disobeying and publicly humiliating their leader!"

"He asked for it!" Selphie said louder than she had intended.

"I did not give you permission to speak!" Cid yelled. "Why are you all behaving this way?"

"Elise must have something to do with this," Seifer concluded.

"Don't blame her for your actions!" Squall defended Elise.

"If you knew who she really is—"

"Shut the hell up, Almasy!" Zell interrupted.

"Make me, Chicken Wuss!"

"SILENCE!" All eyes turned to Cid once again. They way they were behaving in front of the headmaster surprised even them. "If you all insist on behaving like children, I will treat you as such!" He lowered his voice. "You will stay here and think about what you've done." He turned to Xu, who had kept quiet all this time. "Go find whoever is supposed to guard the Disciplinary Room today."

"Yes, Sir." Xu saluted him then quickly walked out.

Cid turned to the two cells again. "I will come back later today, and I will demand an explanation, individually from each of you." He made his way to the door, then turned around. "Make it a good explanation."

 


	9. Hidden Feelings

Cid sat at his desk absently tapping his pen on a clipboard. Everything seemed to be falling apart. Why were his best SeeDs fighting against each other? Why were they being attacked for no apparent reason? And who was the White Army? He had called all the military and nation leaders, including Laguna Loire, president of Esthar. He had asked each one for any information they could have on the White Army, but he was always given the same answer: they didn't know anything about them. All they knew was they had last surfaced about three years back. This wasn't much help, that was basically what he knew.

He examined his pen for a few moments, there had to be a reason for their sudden disappearance and return. He suddenly sat up in his chair; Elise had disappeared and reappeared at the same time as the White Army. There had to be a connection. Was Elise part of the army? Or were they after her? He reached for the phone, he decided he would question Elise, but first, he needed to call Xu; he needed to have someone witness and record the interrogation.

He dialed Xu's number. "Xu, this is Cid. I need you to come to my office right away." He paused. "Thank you." He put down the receiver just as the door in his office opened. Elise stepped inside.

"Miss Avalon," Cid stood up, "next time would you be so kind as to knock before entering my office,"

"I came to tell you something," Elise said ignoring him.

"I too need to speak with you, but we need to wait until Xu arrives."

"We will talk now," Elise said firmly as she looked into Cid's eyes.

He found himself unable to reply, he wanted to tell the student that she was over-stepping her boundaries, but for some reason he could not. He wanted to look away from her powerful gaze but was unable to move.

He noticed the strange look in her eyes, in a way it reminded him of Edea when she... "You're a sorceress." Cid managed to say.

Elise smiled. "Forget you just said that," she said, never moving her gaze away.

Cid's head started to ache, forget, he heard a voice in his head. Forget? He couldn't even remember what he needed to forget.

"You need to go visit your wife," Elise said.

"...But-" Cid started to say.

"Don't worry about Garden, I will personally see to it that everything runs smoothly." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I want you to go straight to your room, pack a suitcase and leave. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Oh, if I'm going to successfully run this Garden I'm going to need the master key card. Give it to me."

Cid unlocked a drawer in his desk and took out a key card, then handed it to Elise. She took it, turned and walked out.

What a sweet and responsible young woman, Cid thought as he watched her leave.

On her way to the second-floor elevator, Elise spotted Xu. "Xu," Elise called to her. "Cid asked me to tell you that he doesn't need you after all."

"Are you serious? I was busy, I don't have time for this!"

"Sorry, I'm just the messenger," Elise said.

"No. I'm sorry, this isn't even your fault." Xu went in the direction of Quistis' classroom.

"My, everyone seems so tense." Elise stepped into the elevator.

That was so easy, Elise thought, her power was indeed growing. She wished she had been this powerful when she was starting to gather her army, it would all have been so much easier.

At that time she had only been fourteen years old. She first attempted to persuade gang members into joining her, but all they did was ignore her. The few that seemed interested weren't eager to battle SeeD, so they too decided to ignore her. She needed people who weren't afraid to fight, people who were willing to die for their cause. She found this task to be extremely difficult. No one took her seriously.

Back then it had not been easy to bend people's minds to her will, but she discovered that the more she used her power, the stronger it became.

She gathered a few members, mainly runaway teenagers and people who had nothing better to do. She still could not organize an attack on Garden, not with her sorry group.

One day she overheard a conversation between her group members. A teenage boy was saying that he knew someone who belonged to an anti-government group. Elise knew this was what she had been waiting for, she had the boy take her to that person, who turned out to be a girl in her mid-teens. Elise had to use her powers to convince the girl to take her to the group's next meeting.

On the day of the meeting, Elise felt very confident; she had a plan. She waited until the meeting was started, she arrived at the abandoned warehouse where it was being held and knocked on the door.

"What?" A male voice answered.

"Death to Deling," Elise replied, this was the password the girl had given her.

The door opened. "You're late." Said a tall, blond young man.

Elise ignored him and walked toward the meeting area. All heads turned in her direction, she stepped in front of the speaker. There was absolute silence.

"I have come to ask you to join my group," Elise spoke.

"Who are you, little girl?" Came a voice from the back.

"My name is Elise. And I am a very powerful sorceress."

"Shouldn't you be at home with your mommy?" Asked the speaker who was still standing behind her, she was a tall dark haired woman who appeared to be about twenty. "Someone get her out of here!" The woman ordered.

Elise scanned the people in the room, they ranged in age from their mid-teens to their early twenties. There seemed to be an equal amount of males and females, this would be a good group to start with, Elise thought. There were only about fifty people in the group, she was still far from her goal, but still this was closer. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt someone pulling at her arm.

"Come on, Little Sorceress." It was the man who had let her in.

Elise shook her arm away. "Will you listen to what I have to say?"

"Get out!" A few people shouted.

"I didn't want to resort to this. But you leave me no choice." Elise closed her eyes and touched her forehead with her right hand, she remained in that position for a few seconds, then she opened her eyes. "Now feel the wrath of Hyne! Moon Beam!" She had summoned Luna, a GF that she had acquired a few weeks before, during a SeeD training mission.

The room was suddenly filled with an intense white light, then the light disappeared. Everyone was surprised to see a woman floating in mid air. She had silver colored eyes and long white hair that reached below her knees, her skin seemed to be made of light.

Luna raised her right hand, a beam of light seemed to come out of nowhere, with her hand she directed the beam toward the group. There was an explosion of light, some people fell to their knees screaming in pain, Luna disappeared in a flash of white light.

Elise stood in front of the group once more, a satisfied smile rested on her lips. "Are you ready to listen now?"

She explained to them that Guardian Forces were the Knights of the Great Hyne. She said that Hyne had chosen her as their leader to fulfill their destiny. She convinced the group to praise the GFs, or Guardians as she had her newly found soldiers call them, as their Gods. No one in the group had ever seen a GF, so they found her story believable.

It took Elise days to convince every single person to fight with her and for her. But all her hard work paid off, she had gotten inside their heads and made them believe everything she said. They would do anything to help the young sorceress who had suffered at the mercy of SeeD, as she had told them. The one who nearly died for her faithfulness to Hyne, they would stop at nothing to help her get her revenge. They would do anything to fulfill their destiny and get closer to Hyne.

With the help of her first recruits, she learned about other rebel and anti-government groups. Her army was growing everyday, by the time she was fifteen it was large and powerful enough to challenge SeeD.

Yes, it had been difficult, but now it was different. She was older, more experienced and much more powerful. She was ready. At this precise moment, however, she felt extremely tired, she needed to rest for the next day's important event. She went to her room to try to sleep, she stopped in front of the door when she saw the broken handle. "Great." She remembered leaving Seifer locked in, he probably broke it trying to get out. She didn't want to sleep in a room that she couldn't lock, but she was so tired. She then remembered that five rooms would be empty that night.

She made her way down the hall to Squall's dorm, it was the closest to hers, Zell's was right next to it, but she had already seen it. She took out the master key card and slid it through the slot on the small panel by the door. There was a chime and the blinking red light on the panel turned to green, Elise turned the handle and stepped into Squall's room.

She turned on the lights and looked around, the room was neat, there were no decorations, the only things that hung on the wall were Squall's SeeD uniform and a calendar. On his bedside table, there was a framed picture of Rinoa, Elise took the picture in her hand. She looked at it for a few seconds, then slammed it face down on the table, for some reason it angered her to see Rinoa's picture there.

She turned her attention to the black case against the wall at the foot of the bed. She walked up to it and opened it carefully, Squall's gunblade was inside. She took it out and studied it for a few moments, what a magnificent weapon, she thought, but it was too heavy for her taste. She preferred her sword, it was much easier to handle. She put the gunblade back and closed the case. She turned off the lights and laid on the bed, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

It seemed as if she had only slept for a few minutes when she was awakened by a noise. She sat up and quickly leaped off the bed when she heard a quiet chime. She needed a place to hide, the closet was her only option, she stepped in and closed the door just as the other opened. Through a small crack she saw the lights come on, she opened the door a little to see who had just come in.

She was extremely surprised to see Squall. How had he gotten out of the disciplinary room? How was she going to leave without him seeing her?

He sat on the bed, his back to the closet, he took Rinoa's picture in his hand. "Come out Elise. I know you're here." Squall said without turning.

His voice made Elise jump, she had no choice but to come out of her hiding place.

"What are you doing here?" He asked while looking at Riona's picture.

"I just needed some sleep."

Squall stood up, he let go of Rinoa's picture and it fell, the glass broke into tiny pieces which scattered throughout the floor. "Did you come to tell me something?" He turned to face Elise.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You are lying. I know there is something you want to tell me."

Did he know her secret? And if so how had he found out?

"I know you want to tell me something."

Well, there was this other thing...Something other than the fact that she had come to destroy them all.

"Tell me."

"I..." She looked into his eyes, she had to look away. She couldn't hurt him, she couldn't tell him. "I..."

"Just say it."

"I...I love you." The words came out of Elise's mouth before she could stop them. Why did I say it? She hadn't even admitted it to herself, she thought she had forced those ridiculous thoughts out of her mind.

Squall walked toward her, he stopped very close to her, then kissed her. Elise pulled away surprised, this was the last thing she had expected him to do. She looked at him, his face was expressionless, she didn't know what to do or say. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, she looked down and saw the gunblade piercing her body.

"How could you do this to me?" She asked Squall, a single tear running down her cheek.

Squall pulled out the gunblade, Elise fell to her knees, she felt the tiny pieces of glass cutting into her skin. Her hands went automatically to her wound.

"Isn't this what you were planning to do to me and the people I love?" Squall asked, his voice full of hatred.

"Not you," Elise said, blood was starting to leak through her fingers. "I could never hurt you."

"But you did. You betrayed me."

Elise could no longer hold herself up, she fell to the floor, she felt the glass cutting into her cheek.

"You deserve to die like this. Alone." Squall walked toward the door.

Elise closed her eyes, she could hear the glass being crushed under Squall's boots, then she heard the door open and close. He was gone. She opened her eyes, all she saw was blood and broken glass covering the floor. So much glass, was that possible? Could a picture that small be responsible for all that glass? What a strange thing to be thinking about when I am so close to death, she thought.

"Foolish child." Someone said. "He could never love you. No one can."

"Let me die in peace."

"You deserve to die alone."

Elise's face was wet from blood and tears. "Go away." She said weakly.

"Worthless girl."

"Shut up, Ultimicia!" Elise yelled, she sat up. She found herself in Squall's dark room, on the bed. She got up and turned on the lights, no blood, no broken glass. Rinoa's picture was still face down on the table. Elise's face was wet with tears she furiously wiped them away. "Stupid dream." She said. "I do not love him." She stepped out of the room and slammed the door.


	10. Ellone

It was nearing midnight, most of the students in Balam Garden were in their dorms trying to sleep, but after the events of the day, sleep did not come easy. They feared the White Army would attack when they least expected it. Fearing the same thing Rinoa, Xu and Nida kept watch at the Bridge.

A few minutes earlier Layla had come to join them. "So the Headmaster is gone?" She asked outraged.

"Yeah," Nida answered. "He asked me to go get a car for him, and I asked him which SeeDs he was going to take with him. He said he was going alone."

"Alone? But where?"

"To see his wife. He said he needed a vacation." Nida shook his head. "Fine time he picked. I couldn't stop him, he said not to worry, that Elise would make sure everything ran smoothly."

"Elise?"

"Supposedly. As you can see she's working extremely hard." Nida said sarcastically.

"So who's running Garden?" Layla asked concerned.

"Well since our Commander is, _indisposed_ ," Xu said, "just us three." She turned to Rinoa. "What are you doing?"

"Who?" Rinoa asked absently, she was staring at one of the security monitors.

"I didn't ask 'who'. Why are you still staring at that monitor?"

"I'm expecting someone," Rinoa said keeping her eyes on the monitor.

"Who?" Nida wondered.

"Wait," Rinoa said holding up her right hand. "I think they're coming."

They all turned their eyes to the monitor, what seemed to be a pair of headlights was approaching Garden. As the lights came closer they confirmed that it was a black car. It stopped in front of the parking lot ramp, then it flashed its lights twice, turned them off and flashed them twice again.

"It _is_ them!" Rinoa exclaimed. "That's the signal I gave them."

"Who is it, Rinoa?" Nida asked. "We can't let just anybody in."

"It's not just anybody. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. There will be three Estharian soldiers, find some place for them to rest."

"Estharian soldiers?" Nida and Xu asked confused.

Rinoa turned to Layla, "come with me." Layla hesitated. "Come on they're waiting."

When they arrived at the parking lot Rinoa rushed to a panel on the wall. She pressed a button and part of the wall began to open from the top transforming itself into a ramp. Once the car was inside Rinoa brought up the ramp again.

Three Estharian soldiers stepped out of the car followed by...

"Ellone!" Rinoa ran up to hug her. "I was getting worried, you said you'd be here earlier. I was afraid something had happened to you."

"I'm sorry," Ellone said, "but we had a bit of car trouble."

"We have a lot to talk about, let's go to my room." Rinoa turned to the soldiers. "The elevator is in the center of Garden, go to the Bridge on the top floor and Xu will tell you where you can rest."

"Thank you." One of the soldiers said and the three proceeded to leave the parking lot.

"This is Layla," Rinoa said motioning toward her. "Zell's girlfriend."

"Hi." Ellone shook her hand.

"This way, Ellone," Rinoa turned toward the exit, "we'll explain everything."

* * *

"So that's pretty much the whole story." Rinoa said as they reached the door to her dorm.

"Does not sound good," Ellone said. Rinoa took a key card out of her jean's pocket and opened the door. "So what-" Ellone began, but was interrupted by Rinoa.

"Quiet!" Rinoa hissed pushing Ellone inside and closing the door.

"Why did you-" Layla stopped when she saw Elise approaching. "Oh." She said quietly.

Elise stopped in front of Rinoa. She was wearing black pants and a black leather jacket, her sword hung at her right hip. Her cold green eyes locked with Rinoa's, she was obviously trying to stare her down.

"I'm not afraid of you," Rinoa said responding to her unspoken challenge.

Elise stared at her a while longer, suddenly her expression changed and she smiled sweetly. "Not today, Little Sorceress." Her sweet smile disappeared leaving a look of pure hatred on her face. "But rest assured, you will have time to prove yourself." She gave Layla an evil look, then continued to walk down the hall.

"She's a freakin' psycho," Layla said once Elise had disappeared around the corner.

"No kidding," Rinoa said. "Come on, let's go inside."

* * *

Elise stood in the Second Floor Balcony, the breeze was softly blowing her hair. She was smoking a cigarette, she didn't smoke often, she had always considered it a disgusting habit. But since it wasn't a habit of hers, doing it once in a while seemed okay.

Elise threw what was left of her cigarette over the balcony. She pulled out her sword and absently ran her finger over the engraved name below the hilt. _Elise Avalon_. She ran her finger on the edge of the blade, she flinched when she felt it cut her skin. Elise quickly drew her finger away, and looked at the sword, a single drop of blood rested on the silver blade.

She cleaned away the blood; it always amazed her how blood could be so easily wiped away. It never left a mark on the sword, but she knew that her sword had left a mark on many lives; a mark that could never be erased.

All the lives she had taken had affected at least one person in some way. They had either benefited or suffered because of her... suffered was the most likely. Suffering seemed to follow wherever she went, people usually lost their loved ones, or were left behind by them.

_How does it feel to lose someone you love?_ She wondered, or what was even more puzzling, _how does it feel to be loved?_ She had never known that feeling, and she knew she never would. She had no family, and the only friends she had were under her power, once she released them they would realize that they didn't really care about her. They would want to kill her rather than protect her if they ever discovered the truth.

"You are the only friend who will never betray me." She said looking at her sword. "This is so damn pathetic." Elise laughed when she realized she had been talking to a sword.

But deep down inside she knew that was true. "And tomorrow, when I receive my powers...I won't need you anymore." She said as tears began to escape her eyes.

 


	11. Visiting the Past

Ellone lay on Rinoa's bed, her eyes closed. Layla was pacing back and forth while Rinoa sat on a chair filing her nails.

"Is something supposed to be happening?" Layla asked.

"Hopefully it _is_ happening," Rinoa responded. "She's going into Squall's past to see if she can find information on what's been happening."

"I know what happened," Ellone suddenly sat up startling both girls. "It's Elise."

"I knew it!" Rinoa slammed her nail file on the table. "What did she do?"

"Well..." Ellone bit her lip and thought for a few seconds, trying to explain what she saw. "She put an idea in his head, she told him that he was being too nice and that everyone was always taking advantage of him. Then she told him that Seifer had been acting on his own and was never under Ultimicia's influence."

"So he just believes everything she says?" Rinoa asked.

"He can't help it, she uses some sort of power that she has to get inside his head. She makes him believe, he tries to resist it, but she's too powerful, in the end, she wins."

"She must have done the same thing to Zell and everyone else," Layla concluded.

"Why would she do something like that? And most importantly, how can we make them see the truth?" Rinoa wondered.

"You're a sorceress," Ellone said, "can't you reverse the process or something?"

"No. I don't dare mess with people's minds." Rinoa said.

"Can you show everyone what happened?" Layla turned to Ellone. "Zell told me that you show people what happened in the past. If they see what happened that might break whatever link she has with them."

"Great idea," Rinoa said. "Let's go try it."

* * *

Squall sat on the hard floor of the cell, they had asked the guard to turn off the lights after they realized that Cid was not coming back. After eating a dinner of cold cafeteria leftovers, they tried to sleep.

Quistis refused to share part of her cot with anyone. She said that sharing the cell with Squall was bad enough, she was not about to share her cot too.

Quistis' attitude forced Zell and Squall to take turns sitting on the wooden stool. Sadly, they soon discovered that sitting on the floor was more comfortable.

"Damn it!" Zell suddenly yelled. "I can't get comfortable."

"Shut the hell up, Chicken Wuss!" Came Seifer's voice from the other cell. "I was actually starting to fall asleep!"

"Why don't you come here and make me, Almasy!"

"You're only sayin' that 'cause you know I can't!"

"Will both of you shut up?" Squall spoke up.

"I'm trying to sleep, _Squall_!" Said an irritated Selphie. "I don't want to hear your stupid voice!"

"Children," the lights suddenly came on, Rinoa, Ellone and Layla stepped in. "I can hear you all the way outside," Rinoa said.

"What are you doing up at this hour? It's almost two a.m." Squall said getting up. "Ellone?" Squall noticed her standing by Rinoa. "What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?"

"You're locked in a cell," Ellone responded.

"Ell came to help us," Rinoa answered Squall's question.

"With the White Army?" Zell asked.

"No. I can't tell you guys yet because you won't believe me." Rinoa said. "Ellone is going to show you guys your past."

"Why?" Squall wanted to know.

"You'll see, just trust me. Quistis, can you please move so that Squall can lie down?"

Quistis glared at Squall. "Fine. But only because _Rinoa_ asked me _nicely_." She got up and stepped away from the cot.

"This better be worth it." Squall said looking at Ellone and Rinoa as he reluctantly moved toward the cot. A few seconds later he was in the Dream World.

Over an hour later Squall, Quistis, Selphie and Zell had viewed their past. Rinoa let everyone out of the cells, they stepped out, there was a long moment of awkward silence. Everyone careful not to look anyone in the eye.

Selphie finally spoke. "Squall, I am so embarrassed, I promise I'll go first thing tomorrow and post a public apology on my site."

"Don't worry about it." Squall assured her.

"You think _you're_ embarrassed?" Zell said. "I did and said so many dumb things." He shook his head.

"I know you didn't mean it;" Layla said taking his hand.

"But I still did it." Zell turned to Irvine. "Hey man, I hope you know that...well...you know...I don't really think that you and Layla...you know..."

"I know." Irvine said, he really didn't hold Zell accountable for what he had done.

"Why would Elise do this?" Quistis looked at Squall.

"Ellone, I know you're tired," Squall said, "but can you please do me a favor?"

"I can try."

"Please show me Elise's past. I want to understand what could possibly drive her to so something like this."

"Sure."

* * *

" _I can't do it!" The child cried._

_"Yes, you kan." Said a voice that was everywhere and nowhere, a voice that was harsh and cold. "I will help you. Get up from your bed and do what I say."_

_"I'm scared."_

_The voice ignored the child's comment. "Today is the day of the_ eklipse _. When you go outside a woman dressed in black will_ kome _to you. Follow her, and do what she says."_

_"But I'm scared,_ Ulimicia _."_

_"Elise, my dear, power is nothing to be afraid of. I am offering you power in exchange for your help. I know you are only twelve years old, but I assure you as you_ bekome _older you will better understand. Now go, get up it is morning. The_ eklipse _will start soon."_

_Elise opened her eyes, it was indeed morning, she wished there was a different way to communicate with Ultimicia other than through dreams. In the morning she always felt tired. But sleep didn't matter today, it was a special day, Ultimicia was right she didn't have to be scared of power._

_She got dressed and went outside where some of the other orphans had gathered to watch the eclipse. Elise stood looking around, she was trying to find the woman Ultimicia had described._

_Elise nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she spun around and saw a middle-aged, blonde woman dressed in black robes._

_"Come with me, Elise." The woman started walking toward the nearby woods._

_They walked for a short while, then stopped when they reached a small clearing. There was a large circle traced on the ground with strange markings inside it that Elise didn't recognize._

_"What are we doing here?"_

_"Sorceress Myrrima is about to die, she will need someone to receive her powers. You, my dear, are that person."_

_"Why is she going to die?" Elise asked._

_The woman smiled wickedly. "...Do not concern yourself with such an insignificant detail, my child."_

_"Who is Myrrima?"_

_"She is a sorceress of_ Ultimicia's _time. More powerful than_ Ultimicia _herself, but she is weak of mind, she does not wish to be a sorceress. So she ignores her great power. Step inside the circle." Elise did as she was told. "The only way to send Myrrima's powers over to you is through this ritual. This is how we are able to bring her powers from the future back to the past. You will not receive all her power at once, because you did not acquire them the natural way, from one sorceress directly to the other. Give me your hand." Elise obeyed, but she quickly withdrew her hand when the woman touched it. Blood started to drip on the ground, she saw a small bloodied blade in the woman's hand._

_"Elise, don't let the blood drip outside the circle!" Elise was careful to do as she was told._

_"That hurt!" She complained._

_"A small price to pay." The woman looked at the sky. "In a few moments, under the darkness of the same eclipse many years into the future, Myrrima's blood will also be spilled in the circle." The clear day suddenly turned dark, Elise automatically looked up and saw the sun being covered by the huge moon._

_"May this blood accept this power!" The woman yelled extending her arms to the sky. "Carris! Lord of the Underworld! I call forth thy power!" There was a sudden gust of wind that seemed to come from under Elise's feet, it disappeared as quickly as it came. The woman continued. "Draw Myrrima's power and cast it onto this child!"_

_With these words Elise's skin began to glow, she felt a slight burning sensation inside her veins. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, when she opened them again the sky was clear once more._

_"We are done." The woman said as she drew a sword from her robes. "A gift from Ultimicia." She handed it to Elise._

_Elise took the sword; the hilt was encrusted in gold, while the blade was shimmering silver. Elise's name was engraved on the blade about one inch below the hilt. "This is for me?" She asked in amazement._

_"You will need it while you wait to receive your powers."_

_"But I thought I already got my powers."_

_"No. Like I said, this ritual merely marked the first stage. You have inherited Myrrima's mental power, it is weak now, but it will become stronger every day. As you may or may not know, this eclipse occurs every six years, the next time it happens you will receive all of Myrrima's power." Elise seemed disappointed by the news. "_ Ultimicia _will contact you soon and give you more instructions. Now go pack."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because my dear tomorrow will be your first day at Balam Garden."_

_"I get to become a SeeD?" Elise asked excitedly, a smile forming on her young face._

_"You will be something much better than a foolish SeeD, you will be their downfall."_

_Two years went by, Elise was very popular at Balam Garden, not because she was actually liked by the students and faculty, but because she had made them all think that they did. She loved the power, knowing that she could make anyone do anything she wanted. But there was an empty space inside her; she had no real friends, no one who truly cared about her._

Ultimicia _repeatedly told her that friendship was not important. She told her this over and over until it was engraved in the young girl's mind. Power mattered, power over_ everyone, _if one_ wanted _power one did not have time for foolish things; things such as love and friendship. Still, Elise longed for someone to talk to, she didn't care anymore if they were really her friends._

_During a training_ mission _Elise met Quistis. They quickly became friends, Quistis was intelligent and much more mature than the rest of the students her age. Elise enjoyed talking with her, she could have deep conversations with her or just talk about cute boys. She started to wish that Quistis could be her real friend, not only a puppet under her control. Or was she under her control, she had used her powers so often and on so many people that it had become difficult to keep track._

_Elise's interest quickly drifted away from Quistis, the reason was a certain boy that Quistis always talked about. A boy who was always alone and never spoke to anyone, it would be a nice challenge to get the boy to talk to her._

_His name was Squall, Elise found him extremely interesting. She tried to get close to him but found that this was more of a challenge than she expected. She would have left it at that; she had no need for him. But she had become very attached to him and realized that her only chance to get close to him would be to control him. She didn't always play with his mind, only when she needed to, but the downside to that was that most of the time she didn't know when he was acting on his own or when he was under her control._

_Elise loved spending time with Squall, he was her only escape from her daily life, a life that revolved around SeeD and her army. She loved knowing that she was the only person that Squall talked to and trusted, even if it was all an illusion._

_The time for the SeeD field exam had finally arrived. Elise was now fifteen years old; she and Quistis were the only fifteen-year-olds to take the exam. Everyone told them what a wonderful achievement that was; Elise was extremely excited about the exam, but her excitement was soon turned to sorrow._

Ultimicia _contacted her and gave her directions for her new mission...to kill Squall and Quistis. Elise resisted at first, it broke her heart to know that she had to kill the only people she had ever cared about. She cried her first real tears that day, but_ Ultimicia _soon convinced her that they didn't matter. She told Elise that if either Squall or Quistis discovered that she had been manipulating them they would not hesitate to kill her. She knew_ Ultimicia _was right, she had to kill them before they killed her. She wiped away her tears and started devising a plan._

_Elise searched for a place that her army could attack, and Minersville seemed to be the perfect place. It was a large town with a weak defense team, but what it lacked in defense Minersville made up in wealth. Elise's army would easily defeat Minersville's defense, this would force them to hire SeeD. She would be able to test her army and kill Quistis that day, she would have to worry about Squall later._

_The day before her army was to attack Elise met with her two best soldiers and showed them a picture of Quistis. "I will be teamed up with this girl," Elise said the day before she had hacked into the Garden's main computer and sabotaged the pairings so that she could end up with Quistis. "I want you two to make sure she dies. She is one of Hyne's strongest opposers."_

_On the day of the exam, everything was going the way Elise had planned. Her army had begun their attack on Minersville the day before and had easily defeated their defense; just as she had expected they were forced to hire SeeD. The SeeD candidates would finally get to prove if they were SeeD material. The headmaster announced the pairings and soon they were off to their first real battle._

_After reaching Minersville SeeDs and candidates were assigned their duties. Quistis and Elise were to secure a small area outside of the town, when they arrived they were attacked by four members of the White Army. Elise would be busy in a simulated battle with two of the soldiers to give the impression that she was being attacked at the time of Quistis' death._

_The two select soldiers attacked Quistis, meanwhile, Elise summoned her GF Tyrant. "As soon as they kill that girl I want you to take her and drop her off the cliff." She motioned to the cliff that was about twenty feet away from where Quistis was fighting._

_"Yes." Tyrant said._

_"On my signal then." Elise began her simulated fight. To her_ dismay _Quistis was faring very well against her attackers. Elise became frustrated, she looked around to make sure no one from Garden was watching, she saw no one. She signaled her 'attackers' to_ stop, _if she wanted the job done she would have to do it herself._

_She rushed over to Quistis, her sword ready to strike; but she made a terrible mistake. Without warning, she grabbed one of her soldiers by the arm to get him out of the way. Instinctively thinking he was being attacked her turned his sword on Elise, realizing too late who she was._

_Elise felt intense pain, she fell to her knees while Quistis watched on in horror. She communicated telepathically with her GF. Tyrant, take me away from here. The small T-_ rexor _-like GF flew over to where Elise was and carried her away. Seeing what had happened Elise's army retreated._

_Tyrant carried Elise for a while, he left her at a hospital in a town near the_ Esthar _area. That night while asleep in her hospital bed_ Ultimicia _spoke to Elise._

_"You foolish, worthless child. You have ruined everything."_ Ultimicia's _voice was cold and unforgiving._

_"I'm sorry, I tried."_

_"Well, obviously trying was not enough."_

_"I know I can make it work if you—"_

_"I do not need the assistance of a failure. I have already chosen someone else to help me."_

_"But I—I...Who?"_

_"You may know him. Seifer Almasy."_

_"I can help him!"_

_"Stay hidden, recuperate. I will call on you if ever I need you. Although I doubt I will ever need someone as worthless as you. You disappoint me, child, I spent so much time on you. I had very high hopes for you."_

_"But—"_

_"If I should fail, it will be your duty to seek revenge, keep training your army."_

_With that Elise woke up and began to cry. A failure. All her hard work had_ lead _her to failure. She prayed that she could prove herself again, three years later her prayer was answered._ Ultimicia _had been defeated; it was time for her revenge._

 


	12. First Love

Squall opened his eyes, he sat up and held his head.

"What did you see?" Rinoa asked, Squall was silent, she looked at Ellone, her head was lowered.

After a long silence Squall began. "Elise...she's trying to kill all of us."

Everyone was speechless after Squall told them what he had seen. He didn't know what to think, he didn't know if the should be angry or if he should feel sorry for Elise...all he knew was that he truly was disappointed.

"The eclipse is today!" Zell said, all heads turned to him. "What time is it?"

Irvine looked at his watch. "It's almost six o'clock."

"That means we only have about two and a half hours."

"We'll need to stop her before then," Selphie said.

_Stop her?_ Squall thought, _what are they planning to do to her? We can't simply destroy her as if she were just another enemy_...but then again wasn't this the same thing they went through with Matron? He was a SeeD, he had to set his feelings aside...Elise was the enemy. He had to stop her, he was the commander of SeeD, and it was SeeD's purpose to defeat the sorceress. "Selphie's right. We'll need to stop her before then."

Quistis was just as confused and disappointed as Squall, but like him, she knew that she needed to set her feelings aside. "What's the plan then?"

"We'll have to spread out and look for her." Squall said. "Selphie and Quistis, you go together, I want at least two people in each team so that Elise can't get to everyone." He explained. "Zell and Irvine, you're together and Rinoa and Layla you come with me."

"What about me?" Seifer asked from the back of the cell surprising everyone.

"What _about_ you?" Squall said coldly.

"I..." _Damn_ , it was hard to get the words out. How was he supposed to say it? _I came to help, I came to try to make up for all I've done, and I came to get even with Elise_. Those were his reasons, but he couldn't tell Squall all that. "I...want to repay Elise for what she did to me."

Squall looked at him for a moment, he didn't want to include Seifer, but they were probably going to need his help. "...Whatever. You can go with Zell and Irvine."

"...The hell?" Zell objected. Layla touched his arm and gave him a _not now_ look. "Tch. Fine." He gave Seifer a dirty look, causing him to do the same.

"We all know what to do," Squall said. "One more thing: I want each group to have a radio so we can keep in touch. Let's go."

* * *

They looked for Elise everywhere they could think of, the search had gone on for over an hour. By seven fifteen it was obvious that she was nowhere in the Garden.

Squall called off the search; he sat on a bench in the first-floor hallway wondering what to do next.

"Mind if I join you?" Rinoa sat by him. Squall glanced at her and moved over.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, it was an obvious question, but she wanted him to talk.

"What do you think?"

"I know you're thinking about Elise, but I want to know what you're feeling." She touched his hand. "You'll feel better if you talk."

What was he feeling? Anger? No, it was something different. He felt betrayed, but he also felt sorry for Elise he-.

"Hello?" Rinoa waved a hand in front of his face. "Squall, you're in your little world again."

He looked at her for a moment. "...She lied to me. For years she lied to me...but the strange thing is that I don't resent her for it. I feel like if I had just found out that Zell or Quistis had tried to kill me all this time, I couldn't hate them." Rinoa rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to have to fight her, but as a SeeD, I know I have to."

"I wish I could say something to make you feel better."

"I have to at least try to talk to her, this isn't really her fault. I can't believe Ultimicia continues to haunt us even after we defeated her." He stroked Rinoa's hair.

"So what are we going to do?"

"There's no way we're going to stop her before the eclipse," he looked at his watch it was past seven thirty. "I'm sure she's going to bring her army, so I have to get everyone ready for the fight, after that we'll just wait." He stood up. "I have to go assign the groups."

"I'll go with you."

They both walked to the Bridge.

* * *

Almost eight thirty one, Elise had waited six long years for this moment. She stood in the middle of the circle she had drawn on the ground; her troops surrounded her.

She was dressed differently, she wore a long white dress and her hair was tied back. In her right hand she held her sword, she pointed it at one of her soldiers.

"Twenty seconds." He said.

Elise cut the palm of her left hand with the blade and let the blood drip inside the circle. "The time has come for the fallen sorceress' powers to reach their rightful owner!" The sky suddenly turned black as the moon covered the sun. "May my blood accept this power! Carris! Lord of the Underworld, I call forth thy power! Cast Myrrima's forsaken powers onto me!" With these words Elise's skin began to glow, she closed her eyes, when she opened them again everything seemed back to normal, the eclipse was over. But Elise felt anything but normal, she felt different, like she could accomplish anything. "Now we go." She walked toward one of the cars.

The people around her could sense the difference, there was a power emitting from her. Some of the soldiers looked at each other, fearful expressions on their faces.

Elise turned around, she could feel the fear that surrounded her. "Don't worry, I won't waste my energy on any of you." She opened the passenger door of the car and stepped inside. "Our true goal awaits." All her years of planning and preparation were about to pay off, Elise smiled, she was ready.

* * *

After the eclipse Squall knew that his only choice would be to fight Elise. He had assigned attack teams and had decided that rather than participate in the attack he and the others would face Elise. Nida and Xu would lead the attack on the White Army.

They were gathered near the directory; Selphie came running up to them. "The Junior Classmen are safe, Ellone is helping to keep them calm."

Squall saluted her. "Now we just have to wait."

Irvine looked at Selphie, when would he work up the courage to confess his feelings for her? Could he do it now? _But everyone is watching_ , but what if they didn't make it out of this alive? What if he died and never got the chance to tell her how he felt? He would have to tell her now...but he couldn't.

Suddenly Selphie walked up to him. "Irvine, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh...sure."

She led him to the bench by the library. "We're about to fight a sorceress who could be even more powerful than Ultimicia," Selphie began, "and that got me thinking, what if we don't make it out of this alive? Or what if I die? Then I'd never get the chance to tell you that I really like you...a lot. I know you may not feel the same way about me, but I just wanted you to know...it was either now, or maybe never."

This took Irvine completely by surprise, all he did was stare at Selphie.

She looked down at the floor and bit her lower lip, _maybe this was a mistake,_ she thought. _Maybe I shouldn't have said anything_ , she hadn't the slightest idea what he was thinking he was just staring at her.

Suddenly Irvine felt like kicking himself, what was he doing? He bent down and kissed her.

Selphie looked up at him and smiled. "I just remembered something."

"What?"

"You were the first boy who ever kissed me."

Irvine looked at her confused.

"Don't you remember?" He shook his head. "My last day at the orphanage I was so sad, I was crying and you came to me and said—"

"Don't cry Seifie, when I'm big I'll find you and then we'll both leave in a train and go far away." Irvine finished. "I remember now."

"And then you kissed me."

"And so here we are again."

"Selphie, Irvine, she's here!" They were interrupted by Squall.

"Well..." Selphie said.

"We better go." Irvine finished.

 


	13. The Final Battle

_"They have vehicles this time."_ Came Nida's voice over Squall's earpiece. _"They just reached the Front Gate."_

"Be ready." Squall said, "Remember, leave Elise to us."

* * *

Elise stepped out of the car. "Tristan, Melanie! Begin leading the attack!" She ordered.

A tall blond girl and a brown-haired young man started yelling out orders. A few minutes later the White Army was ready for battle.

Once Elise saw that everyone was ready she started toward the gate closely followed by Tristan and Melanie. Elise stopped at the wall on the left side of the gate, in her right hand she had the key card that Cid had given her. She slid it through the slot by the gate then let it fall to the ground. The gate opened immediately.

Her soldiers started pouring inside Garden taking the SeeDs by surprise, they had expected them to force their way in as they had before. Elise cast Reflect on herself then made her way into Garden.

One of the SeeDs charged at her, with a wave of her hand she made the young man stop. He tried to move, but his body would not respond, Elise walked up to him. "Where is your commander?" She demanded.

The SeeD kept quiet.

"I have ways of making you talk, SeeD." She threatened.

"He's waiting for you." Said the man, he had been ordered by Nida to give out Squall's location. "He's near the directory."

"Good boy." Elise waved her hand again allowing him to move.

She kept walking forward, casting an Ultima or a Flare on anyone bold enough to stand in her way. She spotted Squall at the directory; she felt a slight fear when she saw that he was not alone. _Something is wrong_ , _they were supposed to be trying to kill each other, so why aren't they?_ _Rinoa must have done something to break the spell_ , Elise thought. _Rinoa_. How she despised her, she saw her standing by Squall, she was by his side; a place where she knew she would never be. If Rinoa hadn't come into Squall's life, then maybe... _No! I mustn't think about those things_. She decided to set her feelings aside; this was a day for triumph and revenge.

She stopped about ten feet away from them, no one moved: Elise looked at each of them. She smiled sweetly, "how lovely, here we are, together. This is perfect," Her expression changed, to one of hatred. "now Ultimicia will finally be avenged."

She extended her right hand; Squall flew back ten feet then landed on the ground with a thud. Rinoa rushed to his side and was relieved to see that he quickly stood up.

"Elise, you don't have to do this," Quistis said. "We don't want to fight you."

"You don't want to fight me." Elise scoffed. "What do you want to do? Discuss this over tea?"

"Elise she's telling you the truth." Squall joined in. "We don't have to fight."

Elise looked down, she realized that she still had her sword in her left hand. She was so accustomed to carrying it with her that she hadn't noticed it. "Whatever." She said. "The only thing that matters is that _I_ want to fight." She switched the blade to her right hand and started studying it, looking at it as if it was the first time. It was time to part with it.

Without warning, she flung the sword to her right. All anyone could do was watch as the blade quickly made its way toward Seifer. Suddenly, it stopped, it rested suspended in midair about an inch away from Seifer's face. He was holding his breath, everyone stared at him and the sword wide-eyed.

Elise looked mildly surprised. "Good work, Little Sorceress."

Everyone turned to Rinoa, her right hand was extended; she lowered it and the sword fell to the ground with a clank. Seifer exhaled.

"You have good reflexes, Little Sorceress, but let's see you stop this!" Elise raised her right hand and said, "Ultra Violet!"

They all fell to their knees, their skin felt as if it was on fire, then they felt paralyzing pain.

"Oh," Elise said putting a hand over her mouth, a concerned expression on her face. "Did that hurt?" Then threw back her head and laughed.

Zell was the first to get up, being badly hurt by the Ultra Violet attack he was able to cast his 'My Final Heaven' limit break on Elise. It hurt and drained her energy, she fell to her knees then quickly stood up.

"You are so dead." Her eyes burned into Zell's. "Holy!" Zell fell backward.

While Elise was distracted with Zell, Selphie, unaware that Elise had cast Reflect on herself, attempted to cast a flare on her. This only resulted in the Flare reflecting back to Selphie.

Seeing this Quistis quickly cast Dispel on Elise, as soon as that was done Seifer cast a Firaga. Rinoa and Irvine were busy curing Selphie and Zell, Elise attacked Seifer with a Blizzaga.

Squall knew he had on choice, he cast an Ultima on Elise, bringing her to her knees.

"You IDIOTS! QUAKE!" Elise stood up.

Rinoa had tried to refrain from attacking, she was truly not fond of using her sorceress powers, but she knew that she too had no choice. "Moon Tears!"

A shining light surrounded Elise, she felt intense pain, she couldn't remember ever feeling such a powerful attack. Despite the pain, she went on. "Bio!" She attacked Rinoa, Squall quickly cast an Esuna on her.

Seifer was ready to do his 'Blood Fest' limit break, he rushed at Elise but she disappeared.

She reappeared in front of Squall. "You can't win that easily." She cast Ultra Violet on everyone except Squall, who was behind her.

"Elise stop!" He begged.

With a wave of her hand, she made him fly backward, before he was able to get up, she did it again. She did this over and over until they reached the elevator doors.

Squall's entire body ached, he was barely able to get up. Elise pushed him inside the elevator, stepped inside with him and pushed the Second Floor button, then disappeared.

Squall cast Recover on himself, he instantly felt his pain disperse and was able to stand up. There had to be a way to stop Elise, he summoned Shiva just as the elevator doors opened, Elise stood right in front of him.

Shiva executed her 'Diamond Dust' attack, something Elise didn't expect. After the attack, Elise disappeared again. Squall proceeded slowly down the hall, he peeked around the corner, no sign of Elise. He had a plan he was hoping would work.

Squall turned the corner, walked a few paces and turned when he heard something behind him. Just as he thought, it was Elise. He drew and cast Ultra Violet onto her, she fell to her knees once more, she put her hands on the floor for support.

He knew that he had time for a GF attack or a powerful spell, but seeing her down he decided he would try to reason with her again.

"Elise...we don't have to go on. If you wanted to, it could all stop right now. None of us want to..." It was hard to say the words. "...To kill you. Especially Quistis and I."

"Stop," Elise said softly, she was looking down at the floor so Squall wouldn't see her face. "I don't want to hear you lie anymore."

"I'm not lying."

Elise didn't seem to hear him. "It's all an illusion. None of it is true."

"Elise—"

"I am so tired...of all the lies." Her face was still hidden, but it was obvious that she was crying.

"I would never lie to you."

She laughed softly, everything was falling apart, her plans, her revenge...Everything would be so much easier if he just hated her, if he tried to kill her. That was what prevented her from attacking again; the fact that he didn't want to hurt her.

"It's not your fault," she decided that the truth was the only thing that would make him angry enough to try to kill her, "you don't know you're lying...because I don't want you to know." She looked up at him, he noticed tear streaks on her cheeks. When you say you care about me, you're only saying what I want to hear." She stood up. "All the 'I love you Elise' and 'we're with you Sorceress', it's all an illusion. I just want it all to stop. I'd rather be killed by you, than lied to by you. So...you're free. Let's finish what we stared."

Having this great power wasn't everything Elise had hoped. She thought that she would come into Garden, kill Squall and all his friends defeat SeeD and start her new empire in the name of Ultimicia. It had all seemed so very simple, but now that she saw Squall standing before her, begging her not to force him to hurt her, it was suddenly so difficult. Yes...having him hate her would be much easier. That way, she could at least pretend that she was defending herself when she killed him... _pretend_...more illusions.

She looked at Squall, why wasn't he doing anything? He just stood there looking at her. He was free from her spell, he was supposed to tell her that he hated her, he was supposed to threaten her and try to kill her; yet, he did nothing.

"What do you mean 'free'?"

"Why isn't it working?" Elise was confused, if she was now a full-fledged sorceress, why couldn't she do something as simple as breaking her own spell? "You're supposed to be free from my power!"

"I am."

_How can it be? Is it a trick?_

"I have been free from your power since before this morning."

"What?"

"We tried to stop you before the eclipse so that it wouldn't come to this because we didn't want to hurt you. Please don't make us do it, don't make _me_ do it."

_Is he lying?_ She looked into his ice-blue eyes, he truly was concerned. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes."

Elise couldn't believe it. One person actually cared about her. He was free from her spell and he still cared about her. Someone cared, Squall of all people. The fact that he cared for her made everything else seem worthless. Her revenge, even her newfound powers, worthless.

"Call off your army, we can still stop."

_Stop?_ What would happen if she stopped? She would surely go to prison. She could hide, but what kind of life would that be? Hiding from the authorities and from her army, they'd come after her once they discovered the truth.

She was so confused. "...It's not that simple...you don't know—" Tears started streaming down her face. "I can't just throw it all away. I've sacrificed so much; worked so hard—I can't just leave it all behind and start over."

"You don't have to start over, just change your path."

"If you knew half the things that I've done to get this far...I don't know if I can change. It would be too difficult."

"But it will be easier if you have friends to help you."

 


	14. A Welcome Fate

Zander carefully made his way through the fighting Seeds and White Army soldiers. He wished he knew where to find Elise, all he knew was that she wouldn't be fighting with the rest of the soldiers, he knew she had wanted to take care of the commander and his friends herself.

He ran forward but slowed down when he saw some people he didn't recognize standing by the directory; they didn't seem to be involved in the fight with the White Army.

"They couldn't have gone far." He heard the raven-haired girl say. He spotted Elise's sword on the ground.

"The only place we haven't checked is upstairs." The blond, spiky-haired, young man said.

Zander ran up to them. "Who are you looking for?" He asked them, everyone stared at him.

"Who the hell are you?" Seifer demanded.

Zander ignored him. "Are you looking for Elise?"

"Do you know where she is?" Quistis asked him.

That answered his question. He picked up Elise's sword.

"Hey, leave that alone!" Zell commanded.

Zander cast an Ultima on them, then ran to the elevator. He couldn't let the SeeD commander kill Elise...that was what he had come to Balam Garden to do.

* * *

"You can't help me, Squall," Elise said. "It's too late."

"You can't give up that easily."

"This is all so confusing. It would just be better if I...died." She wiped her tears away. "That would fix everything." She said firmly.

"Don't say that Elise."

She truly meant what she said. She had been so happy to discover that Ultimicia had lied to her, that Squall truly cared for her. But the fact that she had hurt the only person who cared for her...she didn't know if she could live with that.

When she first plotted to kill him she had not known that he truly cared. She had thought that he was a mere puppet, she had thought she was controlling his words and actions. Obviously, she had been wrong.

Even if she did try to change her path...it would not work. It simply would not work. Why had she not questioned Ultimicia? Why had she believed her?

Ultimicia had ruined her life...there was nothing left. Squall couldn't help her; Hyne himself couldn't help her now. All those years she had wasted, all those years that she would not get back. She knew death was her only escape, the only way that she could make things better. Staying alive would mean too much suffering, and she did not want to suffer anymore. _Death_. She welcomed the thought.

"ELISE!" She automatically turned around when she heard her name. Squall ran to her trying to stop what was about to happen, but before he could do anything...Zander had sunk her own sword deep inside her chest.

Squall was too shocked to do or say anything. Zander pulled out the blade; his dark eyes were full of hate. He knew exactly what he had done, and was glad to have finally done it.

Elise started to fall backward, Squall snapped out of his trance and caught her before she hit the floor.

At that same moment, the others came up the elevator. They turned the corner and stopped when they saw the scene before them.

Zell rushed to Zander and roughly pinned him against the wall causing him to drop the sword. "I had to do it!" Zander tried to excuse himself. "She ruined my life! I went back home only to find that my mother is dead and my girlfriend is married to some guy who is raising my son as his own. I had to get revenge!"

"Shut the hell up!" Zell slammed him against the wall.

Quistis went over to Squall and Elise; she went down on her knees and took hold of Elise's right hand. "Oh, Elise." She said quietly.

"It's better this way," Elise said weakly.

"Don't say that."

"It's true Squall. It's too late to go back, even if I did have the chance. This would have happened eventually...I've ruined too many lives and committed too many crimes. There would be too many people out to get me."

Selphie had her right hand over her mouth. Zell and Irvine wore grim expressions on their faces.

"I never thought I'd be happy when this moment came." Elise continued. "It makes me so happy to know that you care, but it also makes me sad to know that I wasted all this time trying to hurt you."

"It's not your fault." Squall told her.

"If I hadn't wanted this deep down inside, I wouldn't have listened to Ultimicia. Listen Quistis, I have two GFs, draw them out, I want you to have them." Quistis did as she was told. "And Squall, I know it's not much, but I want you to have my sword."

He nodded. "We'll never forget you, Elise." He knew just as well as everyone that she had but a few moments left. He didn't want to waste them by lying, telling her that everything was going to be fine.

"Rinoa," Elise called to her, she stepped forward. "I need to ask a favor of you."

"Sure."

"Please take my powers so that I may rest in peace."

Rinoa put her hands over Elise, a purple light left her body and enveloped Rinoa for a few seconds, then it was gone. Rinoa fell to her knees, after about two seconds she stood up again.

"Thank you." Elise smiled up at Rinoa. "At least now you know that without me, Ultimicia will never be born." She closed her eyes. "This is nice...I was always afraid I'd die alone. Thank you...for not letting my fear come true..." Her eyes never opened again.

Everyone was silent, Seifer couldn't help feeling sorry for her. In a way he knew how she felt, she had been yet another victim of Ultimicia, just like him. He realized that he was lucky, though he hated to admit it, and would never admit it to anyone other than himself; he could have ended up like her.

At that moment Seifer decided that he would do something with his life, he would defy Ultimicia and become what she had hated the most. That would be his revenge.

Squall gently laid Elise's head on the floor. He stood up and looked around, Quistis was still on her knees, her head down; Irvine was holding Selphie.

"Bastard." Zell hit Zander against the wall again, all he did was look down. Maybe killing her had not been the best alternative, Zander now thought. Yes, Elise had gotten what she deserved, but he knew that he would go to prison for what he did.

Squall saw Elise's sword and picked it up. Rinoa came and laid her head on Squall's chest, tears ran down her cheeks. He put his left arm around her while he studied the bloody blade.

How strange blood was, he thought, he knew that the blood on the blade could be easily wiped away. It would leave no mark; the blade would look as if it had never had a single drop of blood on it. No physical mark. But the mark it left implanted in his soul could never be wiped away.

The battle outside stopped abruptly. Most of the White Army soldiers, confused and realizing that it was SeeD they were fighting dropped their weapons and ran cursing the sorceress they had once respected.

The remaining soldiers wanted to go after the sorceress. But being only a fraction of the army that they once were, and with the entire SeeD force blocking their way into the Garden, they decided to retreat. The White Army was never heard from again. They all tried to forget their ordeal and get back to their old lives.

* * *

Squall sat on his bed reading a sheet of paper, he looked at his watch and sighed. He folded the paper, stood up and put it in the pocket of his SeeD uniform.

There was a knock on his door. "Come in."

The door opened and Rinoa stepped inside. "My, my, don't we look sexy?"

"...Whatever." Squall replied to her compliment. "You...um...look nice." He thought she looked beautiful in the long, pale-yellow dress, but he didn't know how to make the right words come out of his mouth.

"That's so sweet," she knew what he meant, "thank you. Quistis sent me to get you, it's almost time for your speech."

"I know."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I don't want to do the speech."

"Why?"

Squall looked at her as if expecting her to know the answer; she said nothing. "...Because after it I have to congratulate all the new SeeDs."

Rinoa rolled her eyes, she could guess why he didn't want to do it. "And you don't want to congratulate Seifer."

Silence.

"Well, that's mature." She sighed. "Squall, he's not the same. He avoids you and Zell and casually greets the rest of us. If that's not a sign that Seifer changed, I don't know what is." She walked up to him and put her arms around his neck. "Plus, Irvine is graduating too, don't you want to congratulate him?"

"...Whatever."

"But you still don't want to congratulate Seifer."

Squall looked at the ceiling. "Can we change the subject?"

"...Well...I do need to tell you something."

"What?"

"My father called me a few minutes ago. He asked me to go on vacation with him to a place where the three of us used to go when my mom was alive."

"For how long?"

"Two weeks."

_Two whole weeks_ , Squall thought, he had never been apart from her that long. He was so used to seeing her every day. What would he do with all his free time? "I thought you guys didn't get along."

"Well, we both decided that we're going to try. After meeting you guys I realized how lucky I am to have my father still with me."

"I'm glad for you." Whatever made her happy.

"I'll miss you."

"Me too." He looked into her eyes and smiled, she smiled back at him. They were both startled by a loud pounding on the door.

"Squall, open the door," They heard Quistis' voice. Squall opened the door and she stepped inside. She wore a light blue strapless dress. "Rinoa, I thought you came to get him." She sounded rather irritated.

"I did. We were going."

"Well?" Quistis turned to Squall. "Why aren't you going? You have to give your speech in two minutes!"

"Because he doesn't want to congratulate Seifer." Rinoa smiled slyly at Squall.

Quistis' blue eyes burned into Squall's, he looked at Rinoa. "Thanks." He mouthed.

"You don't want to congratulate him?" Squall folded his arms under his chest and turned his head. "What he has done is admirable, he has defied his own destiny! He has walked forward with his head held high when others would have given up! He has _my_ respect and the respect of those who know him and know everything that he has been through."

Squall knew she was right. "...Whatever."

"I suspected as much." Quistis sighed. "Just don't say anything degrading to him. Please."

"...It's a good thing you said that," Squall said, his face expressionless, "I was planning on encouraging all the new SeeDs to throw rotten vegetables at him."

Rinoa and Quistis looked at him, shocked expressions on their faces.

"...I was kidding." Squall said, still expressionless.

They stared at him for a few moments then burst out laughing.

He rolled his eyes, he hated to admit it but he did have to admire Seifer for what he had done. He would never say it of course. He looked at the sword mounted on his wall; Elise's sword, if only she had been as lucky as Seifer.

Noticing what he was looking at Quistis and Rinoa stopped laughing.

"I wish she was here too," Quistis said. "But I have finally come to realize that she is now much happier than she could have been here."

"Will Commander Leonhart and Instructor Trepe kindly present themselves to the Ball Room?" Came Cid's annoyed voice over the intercom.

"Oh," Rinoa said. "I guess we bet—"

"Did he say, instructor?" Quistis interrupted. "Did he?"

"Surprise." Squall said. Earlier that morning Cid had informed Squall that he had decided to give Quistis her Instructor's License back. Squall had attempted to convince Cid to give her the license numerous times, this time, though, it had worked. He knew she deserved it, Cid knew that too.

Quistis put both her hands over her mouth, then hugged Squall. "Thank you." She practically ran out of the room.

"We better go," Rinoa said leading Squall out.

Squall looked at the sword once more then smiled, he was sure that wherever Elise was, she truly was happier.

 


End file.
